Genetically engineering cotton plants for altered fiber

ABSTRACT

A method of genetically engineering a fiber-producing plant is disclosed. This method first comprises the step of constructing a plant expression vector that comprises a protein coding sequence and a DNA sequence capable of promoting gene expression in fiber cells, wherein the DNA sequence is homologous to a sequence selected from the group consisting of 12 different genomic sequences. The method next involves introducing the expression vector into a fiber-producing plant wherein the protein coding sequence is expressed in the fiber cells of the fiber producing plant. A method of obtaining a DNA sequence capable of promoting gene expression in fiber cells is also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/617,239, filed Nov. 21, 1990, now abandoned which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/253,243 filed Oct. 4, 1988, now abandoned. Both of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the general technology of plant genetic engineering and, in particular, to the identification of fiber-specific promoters and the use of these promoters to create novel genetically transformed cotton (Gossypium) plants and lines with varied cotton fiber characteristics and quality.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Genetic Engineering of Plants

The hurdle of creating successful genetically engineered plants in major crop varieties is now being overcome sequentially on a plant-by-plant basis. While plant genetic engineering has been successfully demonstrated in several model plant species, most notably tobacco, carrot and petunia, these species are not considered agriculturally important. Therefore, researchers have now directed their efforts toward improving commercially important crop plants through the use of genetic engineering (Potrykus, I., Annu. Rev. Plant. Physiol. Mol. Biol. 42: 205-225, 1991).

The term "genetic engineering," as used herein, is meant to describe the manipulation of the genome of a plant, typically by the introduction of a foreign gene into the plant, or the modification of the genes of the plant, to increase or decrease the synthesis of gene products in the plant. Typically, genes are introduced into one or more plant cells which can be cultured into whole, sexually competent, viable plants which may be totally transformed or which may be chimeric, having some tissues transformed and some not. These plants can be self-pollinated or cross-pollinated with other plants of the same or compatible species so that the foreign gene or genes carried in the germ line can be bred into agriculturally useful plant varieties.

Current strategies directed toward the genetic engineering of plant lines typically involve two complementary processes. The first process involves the genetic transformation of one or more plant cells of a Specifically characterized type. The term "transformation" as used herein means that a foreign gene, typically in the form of a genetic construction, is introduced into the genome of the individual plant cells. This introduction is typically through the aid of a vector, which is integrated into the genome of the plant. The second process then involves the regeneration of the transformed plant cells into whole sexually competent plants. Neither the transformation nor regeneration process need be 100% successful, but must have a reasonable degree of reliability and reproducibility so that a reasonable percentage of the cells can be transformed and regenerated into whole plants.

Genetic Engineering of Cotton

Although successful transformation and regeneration techniques have been demonstrated in model plant species. (Barton et al., Cell 32:1033 (1983), wherein the transformation and regeneration of tobacco plants was reported) similar results with cotton have only been achieved relatively recently. Umbeck et al. Bio/Technology, 5[3] 263-266 (1987); Firoozabady et al., Plant Mol. Bio. 10: 105-116 (1987); Finer et al., Plant Cell Rep. 8: 586-589, 1990.

Successful transformation and regeneration of genetically engineered cotton plants has the potential to be of significant value to this agriculturally important crop. One of the most important benefits potentially achievable from genetically engineering cotton plants is the alteration and modification of cotton fiber quantity and quality.

Cotton Fiber

Cotton is one of the most important cash crops. Cotton fiber (seed hair) is a differentiated single epidermal cell of the ovule. At maturity the fiber cell consists of a cell lumen, primary cell-wall and secondary cell-wall. The primary cell-wall is made up of pectic compounds, cellulose, and small amounts of protein. The secondary cell-wall consists of cellulose. At maturity, the cotton fiber contains 87% cellulose.

Cotton fiber development can be divided into initiation, primary cell-wall synthesis stage, secondary cell-wall deposition stage, and maturation phases. Many hundreds of genes are required for the differentiation and development of cotton fiber. Work on in vitro translated fiber proteins (Delmer et al., J. Cell Sci. Suppl. 2: 33-50, 1985), and protein isolated from fiber (Graves and Stewart, J. Exp. Bot. 39: 59-69, 1988) clearly suggests differential gene expression during various developmental stages of the cell. However, none of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of the large numbers of fiber-specific structural proteins, enzymes, polysaccharides, waxes or lignins have been identified. Since these genes and their interactions with environment determine the quality of fiber, their identification and characterization is considered to be an important aspect of cotton crop improvement. The current invention is designed to approach fiber modification through genetic engineering. Such an endeavor requires fiber-specific promoters, genes that will modify fiber properties, and an efficient transformation technique.

The quality of the cotton fiber is dependent on such factors as the extent of elongation and degree of secondary wall deposition. It is assumed that a number of genes as well as environmental factors regulate the physical characteristics of the fiber, such as length, thickness and micronaire value. However, the genes responsible for cellulose synthesis and fiber development in cotton plants are heretofore entirely uncharacterized at a molecular level.

The most commercially useful plant fiber is derived from cotton (Gossypium arboreum, Gossypium herbaceum, Gossypium barbadense and Gossypium hirsutum). However, there are other fiber-producing plants. These plants include the silk cotton tree (Kapok, Ceiba pentandra), desert willow, creosote bush, winterfat, balsa, ramie, kenaf, hemp, roselle, jute, sisal abaca and flax.

Promoters

Promoters are DNA elements that direct the transcription of RNA in cells. Together with other regulatory elements that specify tissue and temporal specificity of gene expression, promoters control the development of organisms. Thus, there has been a concerted effort in identifying and isolating promoters from a wide variety of plants and animals.

Many promoters function properly in heterologous systems. For example, plant gene promoters such as rbcS, Cab, chalcone synthase and protease inhibitor from tobacco and Arabidopsis are functional in heterologous transgenic plants. (Reviewed by Denfey, et al. Science 244: 174-181, 1989). Specific examples of transgenic plants include tissue-specific and developmentally regulated expression of soybean 7s seed storage protein gene in transgenic tobacco plants (Chen, et al. EMBO J. 7: 297-302, 1988.) and light-dependent organ-specific expression of Arabidopsis thaliana chlorophyll a/b binding protein gene promoter in transgenic tobacco (Ha and An, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 8017-8021, 1988). Similarly, anaerobically inducible maize sucrose synthase-1 promoter activity was demonstrated in transgenic tobacco (Yang and Russell, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci USA, 87: 4144-4148, 1990). Tomato pollen promoters were found to direct tissue-specific and developmentally regulated gene expression in transgenic Arabidopsis and tobacco (Twell et al., Development 109: 705-713, 1990). Thus, some plant promoters can be utilized to express foreign proteins in plant tissues in a developmentally regulated fashion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method of creating a transgenic fiber-producing plant. This method comprises the steps of constructing a plant expression vector that comprises a protein-coding sequence and a promoter DNA sequence and introducing the expression vector into a fiber-producing plant. The protein coding sequence is expressed in the fiber cells of the fiber-producing plant. By "protein coding sequence" we mean a sequence that encodes at least a portion of a protein and is in either the sense or antisense orientation. By "expressed" we mean to include sequences expressed as RNA and as protein. Preferably, the DNA sequence is homologous to a sequence selected from the group consisting of the gene E6 4.5 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment; the gene E6 2.7 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment; the gene E6 4.1 Kb Nco I fragment; the gene E6 3.9 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment; the gene E6 3.2 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment; the gene H6 321 bp Fsp I/Sal I fragment; the gene B6 2.3 Kb Bam HI/Xho I fragment; the gene E9 7.0 Kb Xho I/Nco I fragment; the gene A12 3.5 Kb Mbo I/Sma I fragment; the gene A-11 2.1 Kb Mbo I/Eco RI fragment; the gene B8 2.2 Kb Bam HI/Bst BI fragment; and the gene B12 3.1 Kb Eco RI/Sty I fragment. The homology to the sequence is sufficient to provide promoter activity.

Also preferably, the DNA sequence is homologous to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 20-29. The homology is sufficient to provide promoter activity.

The present invention is also a method of obtaining a DNA sequence capable of promoting gene expression in fiber cells. The method involves first obtaining a genomic library prepared from the DNA of a fiber-producing plant. This genomic library is screened with a nucleotide sequence that is homologous to an RNA sequence preferentially expressed in fiber cells or with a nucleotide sequence from a genomic clone homologous to a fiber-specific RNA. A homologous genomic sequence is selected by this screening. A promoter sequence is isolated from the genomic sequence. Preferentially, the genomic library is screened with a nucleotide sequence sufficiently homologous to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 2-29 to hybridize to a genomic sequence with promoter activity.

It is an object of the present invention to genetically engineer cotton plants and lines and other fiber-producing plants and lines.

It is another object of the present invention to genetically engineer fiber-producing plants in order to alter fiber quantity and quality.

It is another object of the present invention to identify promoters which regulate fiber production or fiber-specific genes in cotton or other fiber-producing plants.

It is another object of the present invention to express foreign genes in a plant in a fiber-specific manner.

It is a feature of promoter DNA sequences identified by the present invention that these promoters may be identified in one plant yet useful in another fiber-producing plant.

It is another feature of the promoter DNA sequences identified by the present invention that they contain DNA sequences sufficient to direct transcription and that they contain DNA sequences sufficient for tissue-specific transcription.

It is an advantage of the present invention that genetically-engineered cotton plants with altered fiber quantity or quality may be able to produce progeny with this trait.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon examination of the specification, drawings, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a set of restriction maps of cotton genomic fragments assayed for promoter activity.

FIG. 2 is a bar graph describing the levels of promoter activity obtained in a fluorogenic assay with the fragments of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of plasmid p2117.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of the construction of plasmid p2117E6P-2A.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the construction of plasmid p2117E6P-3B.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of plasmid pCPE6-2117.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of H6 cDNA.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of the H6 gene.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of plasmid pH6-2117.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of the construction of plasmid pE6-3B-Ext.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

These objects and others are fulfilled by the present invention which involves a method of creating transgenic fiber-producing plants. In many instances it is desirable for the transgene to be developmentally regulated so as to be expressed only in fiber cells at a proper developmental stage. This regulation can be most expeditiously accomplished by promoters capable of preferential promotion. These promoters may be obtained by using cDNA clones from fiber-specific mRNAs to find genomic clones from a genomic library of the plant. From the genomic clone, the entire fiber-specific gene, including developmentally regulated promoter and regulatory sequences, can be isolated.

Therefore, the method first involves identifying promoters that preferentially promote gene expression in fiber cells. (By "preferentially promote" we mean that the gene is either expressed only in fiber cells or is expressed in fiber cells more actively than it is expressed in other plant tissue cells.) One way to identify suitable promoters is by isolating mRNA from fiber-producing cells, making a complementary DNA (cDNA) library of cDNA clones from the mRNA, and screening the cDNA library with cDNA generated from other tissues to identify and eliminate RNAs which are expressed in tissues other than those which produce fiber. This screening procedure will result in the identification of cDNA clones that are expressed preferentially in fiber cells. The sequences of eighteen cDNA clones from fiber-specific mRNAs are given below at SEQ ID NOs: 2-19.

After the identification process is complete, fiber-specific cDNA clones may be used to screen genomic clones created from the DNA of fiber-producing plants. This screening process results in the selection of genomic clones with sequences homologous to the fiber-specific cDNAs. Because a fiber-specific promoter will be upstream from a sequence that is expressed specifically in a fiber cell, the promoter sequence may be identified on this genomic clone. These promoter sequences may be excised and attached to genes which if expressed in fiber cells would alter fiber quality or quantity. (Although the plant may be any of a number of varieties of fiber-producing plants, cotton (Gossypium) plants are the preferred plants for purpose of the present invention).

The present invention is preferably performed with one of twelve cotton genomic DNA fragments that we have identified as containing promoter activity. SEQ ID NOs: 20-29 represent the DNA sequences of ten of these fragments. Some of the ten fragments have only been partially sequenced. Two of the fragments, the gene E9 7.0 Kb Xho I/Nco I fragment and the gene A12 3.5 Kb Mbo I/Sma I fragment, have not been sequenced.

A sequence that is only a portion of one of these twelve identified fragments may also contain promoter activity because it is not necessary for a DNA fragment to contain an identical nucleotide sequence to be functionally identical to the promoter sequences described here. The sequence must only be sufficiently homologous to the fragment to retain promoter activity. Some nucleotide deletions, additions, and replacements, either naturally occurring or artificially induced, will have only a minor impact on gene expression.

The twelve promoter fragments may be truncated to determine the smallest fragment capable of tissue-specific expression. Methods of truncating a clone include deleting sequences and digesting the clone with a restriction enzyme or other nuclease. These methods are commonly known in the art of molecular biology. The promoter assay described below will enable one to determine whether or not a specific portion of DNA contains promoter activity. Creation of a transgenic plant enables one to determine whether a DNA fragment contains a sequence sufficient for tissue specificity.

Another way to obtain a sequence capable of preferentially promoting expression in fiber-producing plants is to probe a library of DNA obtained from a fiber-producing plant with a probe prepared from SEQ ID NOs: 2-19 (the fiber-specific cDNAs) or SEQ ID NOs: 20-29 (the genomic fragments). The DNA probe must only be of a length sufficient to hybridize specifically to a suitable clone. If a sequence from a fiber-specific cDNA clone is used, one will isolate the genomic clone homologous to that cDNA. Because promoter sequences are found upstream from the sequences homologous to the cDNA clone, one must examine these upstream sequences to find the promoter.

If one wishes to recreate the twelve fragments we have assayed for promoter activity, one would first screen a cotton genomic library with a probe prepared from SEQ ID NOs: 2-29. For example, if one wished to recreate the gene B6 2.3 Kb Bam HI/Xho I fragment, one would screen the genomic library with a probe prepared from SEQ ID NO: 29 (the genomic fragment) or SEQ ID NO: 15 (B6 cDNA). The identified genomic clone would be subjected to restriction digests with Bam H1 and Xho I to locate the 2.3 Kb fragment.

After a fiber-specific promoter has been identified and isolated, the promoter must be placed upstream of a gene whose expression is desired. Preferably, the product of this gene is capable of altering fiber quality or quantity. Conventional molecular biological techniques may be used to create suitable constructs.

These constructs must be transformed into a cotton plant or cell. Stable integration and expression of foreign genes in cotton plants has been demonstrated and repeated. Umbeck et al., Bio/Technology, 5[3]:263-266 (1987); Firoozabady et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 10:105-116 (1987). Using the techniques taught in these papers, the transformation of cotton tissues is accomplished by Agrobacterium infection and regeneration. Although a lengthy process, the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cotton has also been practiced by other laboratories and can now readily be replicated by those of ordinary skill in plant genetic engineering.

It is to be understood, however, that other methods for the transformation of cotton plants and lines are being studied, and that the transgenic cotton plants and lines with fiber genes introduced into them will prove advantageous and useful regardless of the method of transformation of the original tissues. Specifically, it has now been demonstrated that higher plants can be stably genetically transformed by particle-mediated transformation techniques, which avoid many of the difficulties and delays inherent in plant regeneration required by Agrobacterium plant transformation. McCabe et al., Bio/Technology, 6[8]: 923-926 (1988). Recent research results suggest that routine particle-mediated transformation of cotton is to be expected shortly.

The present invention is a useful genetic engineering tool for the introduction of altered fiber-specific characteristics into cotton plants. The identification and introduction of fiber-specific promoters from one plant variety to another can be extended to include other exotic plants that produce fiber. Many of these plants will have fiber-specific promoters with one or more desirable qualities, which can be incorporated into a cotton plant.

The promoters of the present invention can be utilized in modulating the synthesis of fiber proteins or to introduce non-fiber proteins into fiber in a tissue-specific manner. To determine the sequences within a gene necessary for fiber-specific expression, nucleotide sequences of the coding region and regions flanking the coding region can be subjected to computer analysis to identify sequence patterns that correspond to consensus regulatory elements. Potential regulatory elements are usually present at the 5' flanking region of the gene, 30 to 100 bases upstream from the transcription start site in eukaryotic genes (for reviews see Breathnach and Chambon, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 50: 349-383, 1981; Johnson and McKnight, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 58: 799-839, 1989). In addition to the promoter (TATA box) other consensus sequences such as the CATC box and the CACA box, may also be present in specific groups of genes. Messing, J. et al., in Genetic Engineering of Plants, an Agricultural Perspective, Kosuge, et al. eds. pp 211-227 (1983); Forde, B. G. et al., Nucl. Acid Res. 13:7327-7339 (1985); Goldberg, R. B. Philos. Trans. Roy Sci. B314:343-353 (1986). A search of the 5' flanking sequences of the gene can identify these sequence patterns.

The presence of these consensus sequences in the 5' region is an indication of promoter activity, but the presence of these consensus sequences is not conclusive that the identified DNA segment is the true promoter. This is because many concensus sequences can be located in a given gene. Therefore, true identity of the promoter element requires other promoter assays.

One may use a transient reporter gene expression system to assess promoter activity. In such an assay, the fragment to be assayed would be linked to a reporter gene and used to transform a plant cell. Useful reporter genes include chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), luciferase (Lux) and β-glucuronidase (GUS). Alam and Cook, Anal. Biochem. 188: 245-254, 1990; Jefferson, Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5: 387-405, 1987. We have described a reporter gene assay in our examples. Further confirmation of the promoter activity and tissue-specific and developmental expression can be obtained by stably integrating a chimeric construct comprised of the DNA segment and reporter gene into plants or animals and following the reporter gene's expression through development.

Another approach to creating cotton plants with altered fiber characteristics is to create antisense genetic constructs with fiber-specific promoters to inhibit or lessen the expression of one or more fiber genes in fiber cells. The theory behind antisense genetic constructs is that the production of RNA strands in the cells of an organism which are complementary to the mRNA of an endogenous gene will result in hybridization of the antisense RNA to the native mRNA resulting in decreased expression of the mRNA gene. Smith, et al. Nature 334 724-726, 1988; Bird, et al. Bio/Technology 9: 635-639, 1991; Van der Krol, et al. Gene 72: 45-50, 1988. Thus, in an antisense construct, a complete coding sequence for the mRNA is not needed. All that is needed is a sequence of sufficient length to construct a selectively hybridizing antisense RNA. Thus, the cDNA clones discussed below are of particular utility for this approach.

The following is a description of the process and materials used to identify fiber-specific promoters and to transform cotton plants. Although reference to cotton is specifically made, it is within the scope of the present invention to substitute other fiber-producing plants.

EXAMPLES

1. Isolation of RNA From Fiber

Fiber cells at different stages of development from fiber-producing plants were collected and quick-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Specifically, fiber cells from 15 and 23 day-old Coker 312 or 10 day-old Sea Island bolls were collected and quick-frozen. The frozen fiber cells were then powdered in a mortar in liquid nitrogen and homogenized in a homogenization buffer for 1.5 minutes using a polytron at full speed. The homogenization buffer included the following ingredients: 5M Guanidine isothiocyanate; 0.2M Tris-acetate (pH 8.5); 0.7% Beta-mercaptoethanol; 1% polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP, MW 40 Kd), and 0.62% sodium lauroyl sarcosine. Beta-mercaptoethanol and PVP were added just before use. A ratio of 1:2 of tissue (weight) to buffer (volume) was used.

The homogenate was filtered through Mira cloth and layered over a 1.5 ml pad of 5.7M cesium chloride as described by Chirgwin, J. M. et al. Biochemistry, 18: 5294-5299 (1979). The homogenate was then centrifuged for 18 hours at 36,000 rpm in a SW 50.1 rotor at 20° C. After centrifugation, the RNA was collected as described by Chirgwin et al. (supra).

The RNA was then further purified by phenol:chloroform extractions and precipitations in the presence of ammonium acetate as described for DNA by Crouse, et al., Focus, 9[2]: 3-5 (1987). Poly(A)+RNA was obtained by oligo-(dT) chromatography as described by Maniatis, et al., in Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., (1982).

2. Library Construction and cDNA Clone Identification

Complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries were prepared from the mRNA according to the protocol developed by D'Alessio et al., locus, 9[1]: 1-4 (1987) with the following exceptions: The first strand of cDNA was synthesized using a primer having the following sequence dATGCTGGTACC(T)₁₅ (SEQ ID NO: 1); the second strand synthesis was carried out as described by D'Alessio et al., supra, for tailing. The poly-(dC) tails were added to the double-stranded cDNA and then annealed to poly-(dG)-tailed pBR322 plasmid vector (Bethesda Research Laboratories). The recombinant plasmids were used to transform Escherichia coli (E. coli) RR1 strain as described by Hanahan in DNA Cloning a Practical Approach, Vol. 1 (1985) p. 109-135. The transformed cells were selected on agar plates containing the antibiotic tetracycline (12 mg/liter).

Separate cDNA libraries were constructed from the mRNAs from 10-day, 15-day, and 23-day-old fiber cells. For the 10-day fiber cell mRNAs, an oligo-(dT) primer was used for cDNA synthesis instead of the primer described above. The 10-day cells were selected to be representative of genes active during the primary cell wall stage of cell development. In the 15-day-old cell, both primary cell wall and secondary cell wall synthesis systems are active. The 23-day-old cells were selected to be representative of genes active principally during secondary wall synthesis.

The clones in the library were then transferred to nitrocellulose filters and duplicate filters were made according to Hanahan, et al., Gene, 10: 63-67 (1980). About 25,000 clones from the 15-day and 23-day libraries were screened using the following procedure. ³² P-labelled single-stranded cDNA probes were prepared from poly(A)+RNAs using ³² P-dCTP and reverse transcriptase as described by Maniatis et al., supra. Probes were prepared from poly(A)+RNAs of 15-day, 23-day old fiber producing cells, and from 0-day ovule, leaf, root and flower cells. Prewashings, prehybridizations, hybridizations and washings of the filters were performed as described in detail in John et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 5628-5632 (1984).

The autographic signals from filters hybridized with ³² P-labelled cDNAs from the different tissues were then compared. The clones which hybridized to cDNAs from fiber producing cells, but not to cDNAs from other tissues, were selected. The resulting clones were then subjected to a second cycle of differential screening as described above and additional clones were eliminated as non-fiber specific. This process was continued for a third and then a fourth time. This repetitive screening was to eliminate clones which showed hybridization to other than cDNAs from fiber producing cells.

The final collection of clones were then subjected to northern analysis. For this analysis, poly(A)+RNA from different tissues were denatured in the presence of formaldehyde and size-fractionated on 1.5% agar/formaldehyde gels as described by John et al., supra. The RNAs were then blotted to nitrocellulose and probed with ³² P-labelled inserts of each individual clone. The clones that showed hybridization to only RNAs from fiber cells were selected. This screen resulted in the identification of cDNAs specific to five fiber specific genes. All manipulations on plasmid DNAs such as isolation, purification on cesium chloride gradients, restriction digestion, insert purifications by gel electrophoresis and electroelutions and ³² P-labelling by nick-translations have been described previously (Maniatis et al., supra and John et al., supra).

The cDNA library from the 10-day old cells was then screened using a subtractive hybridization procedure as follows. The ³² P-labelled cDNA from fiber was hybridized to excess biotinylated mRNA isolated from leaf tissue. The cDNA-biotinylated mRNA hybrids and the excess biotinylated mRNAs were separated from unhybridized cDNA by extraction with avidin in phenol:chloroform. The streptavidin was partitioned into the organic phase along with any biotinylated nucleic acid while the single-stranded cDNA remained in the aqueous phase. This procedure has been described elsewhere, Duguid et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 85:5738-5742 (1988).

Substractive hybridization screening of 4788 clones of the 10-day cell library with leaf cDNAs resulted in 800 clones not present in the leaf. These clones were then screened by cDNAs generated from ovule, flower and root mRNAs. The results of this screening were 79 putative fiber-specific clones. The duplicate clones which hybridized to each other were detected by the procedure of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)(Saiki et al., Science, 239:487-491 (1988)), Southern blotting and hybridization. The PCR reaction was carried out by first mixing 10 microliters of bacterial culture of the cDNA clone added to 90 microliters of distilled water. 20 microliters of that mixture was added to a PCR reaction buffer of 50 mM KCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 2.5 mMMgCl₂, 0.01% gelatin, 200 μM each of dATP, dCTP, dTTP and dGTP, 12.5 picomolar each of sense and antisense primers for pBR322, and 0.5 units of Taq polymerase. The final reaction volume was 52 microliters. The PCR reactions were carried out in a Perkin-Elmer-Cetus thermocycler.

The amplified DNA from the PCR reactions was separated by agarose gel electrophoresis and blotted onto nitrocellulose by the method of Southern, J. Mol. Biol. 98:503-517 (1975). One or more bacterial clones from the same group was amplified by the same procedure and the products also separated on agarose gel. The amplified insert DNAs were then excised from the gel and purified by electroelution. The purified DNAs, labelled with ³² P by nick-translation, were hybridized with the Southern blot. Thus, the cross-hybridizing clones were identified in this fashion. This procedure resulted in the identification of 19 putative fiber-specific clones. The clones were further analyzed by northern blots. Three of the clones were found to be fiber-specific. Another five of the clones were found to be differentially expressed to a higher degree in fiber and to a lesser degree in other tissues. Fiber-specific cDNA clones were then used as probes to screen genomic libraries and isolated cross-hybridizing genomic clones.

3. Characterization of Fiber-Specific cDNA clones

In the following sections, we describe each of the fiber cDNAs, their corresponding genes and their promoters. The nomenclature is as follows: CK=Coker, SI=Sea Island; FB15, FB10 =15 or 10 day old bolls; the last remaining letters and numbers signify the individual cDNA isolate.

a. CKFB15A1-E6 cDNA clone (E6 cDNA)

This cDNA clone for a fiber gene has an insert of 983 base pairs which hybridizes to 1.0 and 1.1 Kb RNAs. The RNA is expressed in fiber and not in root. Flower leaf and ovule RNAs show weak hybridization.

The E6 RNA was found to be developmentally regulated. Its steady-state concentration increases immediately after anthesis. Our quantification of E6 transcript in fiber using in vitro synthesized E6 RNA as a control, shows that 20 μg of RNA from 20-day-old fiber contains about 3.5 μg of E6 RNA. Thus, E6 RNA is an abundant fiber RNA.

Hybrid selection translation experiments showed that E6 codes for two polypeptides of 26 and 30 kD. The E6 clone cross-hybridizes with Pima and Naked seed cotton fiber cell RNAs. The clone also cross-hybridizes with a number of plants belonging to Gossypium species. Thus, DNAs from Pima and Sea Island (G. barbadense) PD3 and DP50 (G. hirsutum) and plants belonging to G. longicalyx and G. somalense all showed hybridization. In addition, plants belonging to another species of family Malvaceae, the Hibiscus are also found to have conserved E6 gene. DNAs of H. sabdariffa L. cv., Rosselle, Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) belonging to family Bombacaceae, Hemp (Cannabis satira) belonging to family Moraceae also showed hybridization to E6 gene. We also confirmed that E6 or a homologous gene is present in Gossypium darwinii, Gossypium herbaceum L. cv. Jayadhar and Tzuyung, Gossypium anomalum, G. australe, G. nelsonii, G. arboreim L., cv., Nanking and Liaochung, G. thurberi, G. davidsonii, G. raimondii, G. stocksii, G. somalense, G. longicalyx, and F. bickii. Thus, the E6 sequence is conserved in most of the plants belonging to family Malvaceae and also found in two other families Bombacaceae and Moraceae. Many of these plants produce seed hair or bast fiber. Interestingly, we did not detect E6 hybridization in the DNAs of soybean, corn, tobacco or the cellulose producing bacterium Acetobacter (A. xylinum). These studies imply that E6 gene may have functions in the formation of seed hair or bast fiber cells.

The complete nucleotide sequence of E6 insert is presented as SEQ ID NO: 2. This sequence contains a long open reading frame extendening from position 1 to position 748. On this same open reading frame, start codons appear at positions 34, 61 and 94. If the first codon is the initiation site for the protein, the 714 nucleotide reading frame would yield a 238 amino acid protein. E6 cDNA clone was deposited with ATCC at Accession Number 67809.

SEQ ID NO: 2 also contains an additional 84 residues and a stretch of poly(A) that originate from clone PCKFB15-B3. This clone is identical to pCKFB15A1-E6 except for the presence of additional residues at the 3' end.

b. CKFB15A1-H6 cDNA clone (H6 cDNA)

H6 cDNA hybridizes to a developmentally regulated RNA of 950 bases. H6 RNA was not detected in leaf, flower, ovule and root. The H6 clone cross-hybridizes to Pima, PD3 and Sea Island DNAs and is encoded by one or two genes in the cotton genome. The H6 clone had an insert of about 500 base pairs.

To obtain a full length cDNA clone, primer extension of H6 clone mRNA was conducted using an oligomer and fiber cell mRNA by the protocol described by Dean et al., Nucleic Acid Res. 15:4655-4668 (1987). The primer-extended product was then cloned into the Pst 1 site of dG-tailed pBR322. The complete sequence of H6 insert clone and the primer extended H6 (CKFBH6-10) were determined. Together, these two sequences make up the complete 913 base pair sequence of H6. This sequence, SEQ ID NO: 3 below, has a single long open reading frame with an initiation codon at position 71. Sequence analysis using a Genetics Computer Group software package (University of Wisconsin) for identifying protein coding sequences also suggest a single protein coding region between residue positions 71 and 710. The nucleotide-derived amino acid composition shows a proline rich peptide (35 mole % proline) of 214 amino acids. A total of five amino acids (alanine, proline, leucine, serine and valine) make up 74.3% of the protein. The sequence includes 17 pentapeptide repeats of X-Y-Pro-Pro-Pro repeat units where X and Y are serine, alanine or theronine. The H6 protein is clearly distinct from previously known proteins of plant cell walls, such as extensin. H6 cDNA clone was deposited with ATCC at Accession Number 67810.

c. CKFB15A1-C12 cDNA clone (C12 cDNA)

C12 RNA is 1.1 Kb bases long and is developmentally regulated. It is not expressed in root, leaf, ovule and flower. The C12 clone cross hybridizes with Pima, PD3 and Sea Island genomic DNAs, and is encoded by one or two genes. The C12 clone has an insert of about 659 base pairs. The sequence is presented as SEQ ID NO: 4 below. The C12 cDNA clone has been deposited with ATCC at Accession Number 67808.

d. CKFB15A1-B8 cDNA clone (B8 cDNA)

B8 RNA is 1100 bases long and is developmentally regulated. It is not expressed in leaf, root, ovule and flower. B8 cross-hybridizes to Pima, PD3 and Sea Island genomic DNAs and is encoded by one or two genes. The B8 cDNA clone has an insert of 690 bp, the sequence of which is presented at SEQ ID NO: 5 below. It has been deposited with ATCC at Accession Number 67807.

e. CKFB10-B12 cDNA clone (B12 cDNA)

B12 cDNA hybridizes only to fiber RNA in northern analysis. The transcript size is 1 Kb. The 727 base pair insert in B12 has been sequenced and is presented as SEQ ID NO: 6 below. The developmental pattern of expression of the clone showed that maximum concentration of B12 mRNA is present 10 to 20 days after anthesis. The concentration of B12 RNA in 24 day old cotton fiber cells is very low.

f. CKFB10-A11 cDNA clone (FB10-A-11 cDNA)

FB10-A-11 RNA is also fiber-specific. The cDNA insert size is 1 Kb. Two mRNA transcripts (1.1 and 0.9 Kb) from fiber cells hybridize to FB10-A-11. The sequence for FB10-A11 is presented as SEQ ID NO: 7 below.

g. CKFB10-D7 cDNA clone (D7 cDNA)

This cDNA clone hybridizes to an RNA of about 500 bases in length. It is not detected in ovule, leaf, flower or root RNA from cotton. The sequence of this cDNA clone is presented as SEQ ID NO: 8 below.

h. CKFB10-C2 cDNA clone (C2 cDNA).

This cDNA clone hybridizes to an mRNA highly expressed in cotton fiber cells but also detected as weakly present in petal tissues. The cDNA insert is 668 bp and hybridizes to an RNA of 1.1 Kb. The sequence is listed as SEQ ID NO: 9.

i. CKFB10-C12 cDNA clone (C12 cDNA)

The cDNA clone C12 has an insert size of 609 base pairs. The transcript is expressed in fiber cells, but is also expressed at low levels in petal and pollen. The cDNA hybridizes to an mRNA of 1.1 Kb. The sequence of CKFB10-C12 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 10 below.

j. CKFB10-C1 cDNA clone (C1 cDNA)

This clone hybridizes to a transcript of 450 base pairs in fiber cells. The cDNA also hybridizes very weakly to transcripts in petal and pollen. The insert size is 432 base pairs. The sequence is presented at SEQ ID NO: 11 below.

k. CKFB10-A8 cDNA clone (A8 cDNA)

This cDNA clone has an insert size of 320 base pairs and hybridizes to a 1 Kb mRNA in fiber cells. The clone also exhibits weak hybridization to leaf and to petal RNA. The sequence of the insert is presented in SEQ ID NO: 12.

l. CKFB10-A9 cDNA clone (A9 cDNA)

The cDNA clone A9 has an insert of 399 base pairs and hybridizes to an RNA of 750 bases in fiber cells. The clone exhibits weaker hybridization to RNAs from other tissues. The sequence is presented at SEQ ID NO: 13 below.

m. CKFB10-D4 cDNA clone (D4 cDNA)

Clone D4 hybridizes strongly to 10 day fiber RNA and very weakly to petal RNA. Its transcript size is 500 bases and has an insert size of 455 bp. This sequence is presented at SEQ ID NO: 14 below.

n. CKFB10-B6 cDNA clone (B6 cDNA)

B6 cDNA hybridizes to RNA of fiber. It also shows weak hybridization to leaf RNA. It has an insert size of 1.1 Kb and transcript size of 1.2 Kb. The sequence of B6 cDNA is presented at SEQ ID NO: 15.

o. CKFB10-A12 cDNA clone (A12 cDNA)

A12 cDNA hybridizes to fiber RNA only. It has an insert size of 868 bp and hybridizes to a RNA of 900 bases. The sequence of A12 cDNA is presented at SEQ ID NO: 16.

p. CKFB15-E9 cDNA clone (E9 cDNA)

This clone hybridizes strongly to fiber RNA and weakly to petal RNA. It has an insert size of 1283 bp. The sequence is presented at SEQ ID NO: 17 below.

q. SIFB-H8 cDNA clone (H8 cDNA)

H8 cDNA hybridized to fiber RNA, but not to cotton leaf, root or ovule. The H8 sequence is presented at SEQ ID NO: 18 and contains an 878 bp insert.

r. SIFB-H4 cDNA clone (H4 cDNA)

mRNA hybridizing to H4 cDNA is expressed in fiber and to a much lesser extent in petals. The sequence of H4 cDNA is presented at SEQ ID NO: 19.

As will become apparent from the following, these cDNA clones can be used to obtain genomic clones containing fiber-specific promoters. Plant transformation vectors can therefore be constructed to transfer genes connected to these promoters into fiber-producing plants and express the gene in a fiber-specific manner.

Some of the RNA species represented by the above-identified cDNA clones are partially expressed in other tissues, such as petal or leaf. If a promoter is desired that directs expression in fiber and another plant tissue, one of these cDNA clones might be preferentially selected to search for this promoter. For example, E9 and H4 cDNAs hybridize weakly with petal RNA. If one wished to obtain a promoter that preferentially promotes expression of genes in fiber, but also promotes expression to a lesser extent in petal, one would use the E9 sequence or the H4 sequence as probes.

4. preparation of Genomic DNA and Genomic Clones

Genomic DNAs from Sea Island cotton, Coker 312 cotton and Kapok were prepared according to the methods described in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, (Eds. Ausbel, F. M. et al.) Wiley, (1987), pp. 2.3.1-2.3.3, with the following modification: The frozen plant material was homogenized in extraction buffer containing 1% polyvinyl pyrrolidone. The purified genomic DNA was digested with restriction endonucleases and transferred to nitrocellulose filters by the Southern blotting technique. Southern, (supra).

The filters were then probed with nick-translated inserts of the fiber-specific cDNA clones previously identified. The hybridization and blot washing conditions are described in John et al. (supra). The Southern hybridization results showed that each of the cDNA clones hybridized to only a few (one or two) bands in the genomic DNA. This result indicates that there are only one or two genes corresponding to these cDNAs in the cotton genome.

Sea Island cotton, Coker 312 cotton and Kapok genomic libraries were prepared by Clonetec, Inc., of California, in EMBL-3 or lambda DASH vectors. For the preparation of the library, the DNA was partially digested with Mbo I. 8-22 Kb DNA fragments were cloned into the Bam HI site of the vector. Inserts 10-15 Kb were present in the phages. The inserts were excised by either Sal I for EMBL-3 and lambda DASH or Eco R1 for lambda DASH. The genomic libraries were plated on E. coli NM 538 as described in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, (supra.) The genomic library was screened with ³² P-labelled inserts of the fiber-specific cDNA clones after transferring the library to nitrocellulose filters according to the methods described in Current Protocols, (supra) and John et al., (supra). By this method, genomic clones containing sequences homologous to the fiber-specific cDNA clones were isolated.

Subcloning of these genomic DNA inserts into plasmid or phagemid vectors was done using standard protocols. Ligated DNAs were transformed in Escherichia coli strain XL-1 Blue (Stratagene). Recombinant clones were selected on the basis of blue/white selection on X-gal, IPTG (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoyl-beta-D-galactophyranoside; isopropyl-beta-thio-galactophyranoside) plates. The plasmid sizes of the recombinant clones were then analyzed by SDS-agarose gell electrophoresis (Sekar, V., Biotechniques, 5: 11-13, (1987)). The inserts of the clones were further characterized by restriction mapping and Southern analysis. Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, (supra). If necessary, further subcloning of smaller restriction fragments that contain the cDNA hybridizing regions was also undertaken. The above protocols enable one to determine the approximate boundaries of a given gene.

The nucleotide sequence of the gene and the corresponding cDNAs were analyzed by computer programs to determine, among other things, the tentative coding region, presence of introns and exons, 5' and 3' non-coding regions and putative protomer regions. The software that we have used for this purpose is that of Genetics Computer Group (GCG), Madison. Once the detailed sequence analysis was performed and various putative structural components of the gene were identified, we were able to confirm these findings by various experiments. For example, we used a chimeric marker gene construct that includes the promoter fragment to transform a test cell. By observing the presence or absence of the marker gene activity, one can analyze the promoter function of that DNA fragment.

5. Characterization of genomic clones

Once the genomic clones were identified, they were subcloned into plasmid or phagemid vectors for easy manipulation, as discussed above. A schematic representation of the promoter fragments that we characterized is given in FIG. 1.

The nomenclature is as follows: EMBL and DASH=Lambda vector; SI=Sea Island, CK=Coker; CP=Ceiba pentandra; next to last two characters=the cDNA clone that hybridized to the genomic clone; the last numbers or characters correspond to different genomic clones from a given library. The following fragment sizes are approximate.

The genomic clones we obtained and assayed are described below in Table 1. When the fragments were initially cloned, a Sal I site was added to the fragment by the cloning vector. The designation "Sal I (Mbo I)" in the following table is to emphasize that a naturally occurring Mbo I site exists adjacent to the artificial Sal I site. (The genomic fragments were originally created by a partial Mbo I digest.) All other restriction sites in Table 1 and in FIG. 1 are naturally occurring genomic sites.

    __________________________________________________________________________                         FRAGMENT ASSAYED     GENOMIC CLONE                SUB CLONE                         FOR PROMOTER SEQUENCE ID NO:     (Insert Size)                (Insert Size)                         ACTIVITY     AND DESCRIPTION     __________________________________________________________________________     EMBL-SI-E6-2A                SKSIE6-2AH3                         Sal I (Mbo I)/Nco I                                      SEQ ID NO: 20 contains 541 bp of                                      promoter, 33 bp of 5'     14.2 Kb Sal I                6.4 Kb   4.5 Kb       noncoding, 741 bp of coding and 332 bp                                      of 3' noncoding.     (Mbo I)    Sal I/Hind III     EMBL-SI-E6-3B                SKSIE6-3B                         Sal I (Mbo I)/Nco I                                      SEQ ID NO: 21 contains 581 bp of                                      promoter, 33 bp of 5'     15.0 Kb Sal I                5.1 Kb Sal I                         2.7 Kb       noncoding region, 741 bp of coding                                      region, and 313 bp of     (Mbo I)                          3' noncoding region.     DASH-CK-E6-1A                SKCKE6-1A                         4.1 Kb       SEQ ID NO: 22 contains 567 bp of                                      promoter, 33 bp of 5'     12 Kb Sal I                12 Kb Sal I                         Nco I        noncoding region, 717 bp of coding                                      region, and 301 bp of     (Mbo I)                          3' noncoding region.     DASH-CK-E6-4A                SKCKE6-4A                         3.9 Kb       SEQ ID NO: 23 contains 512 bp of                                      promoter, 37 bp of 5'     12.2 Kb Sal I                8.0 Kb Sal I                         Sal I (Mbo I)/Nco I                                      noncoding region, 726 bp of coding                                      region, and 303 bp of     (Mbo I)                          3' noncoding region.     EMBL-CP-E6-3A                SKCPE6-3A-RV                         3.2 Kb Sal I (Mbo I)/                                      SEQ ID NO: 24 contains 421 bp of                                      promoter including the 5'     15.3 Kb Sal I                4.8 Kb   Nco I        untranslated mRNA leader, 873 bp of                                      coding region and 324     (Mbo I)    Sal I/EcoRV           bp of 3' untranslated region.     EMBL-SI-H6-4                SKSIE6-H6-RI                         321 bp Fsp I/Sal I                                      SEQ ID NO: 25 contains 250 bp of                                      promoter, 71 bp 5'     13 Kb Sal I                1.9 Kb Sal I/                         (Mbo I)      untranslated mRNA leader, 1226 bp of                                      coding region     (Mbo I)    Eco RI                including a 583 bp intron and 437 bp of                                      3' untranslated region.     EMB2-SI-B12                SKSI-B12-H3                         3.1 Kb Eco RI/Sty I                                      SEQ ID NO: 26 contains 699 bp of                                      promoter, 139 bp of 5'     15 Kb Sal I                73 Kb Hind III        untranslated mRNA leader, 841 bp of                                      coding region which     (Mbo I)                          includes two introns (76 bp and 82 bp                                      each) and 735 bp of 3'                                      untranslated region.     EMBL-SI-A11-B                SKSIA11-B                         2.1 Kb Sal I (Mbo I)/                                      SEQ ID NO: 27 contains 279 bp of                                      promoter     17.0 Eb Sal I                4.9 Kb Sal I                         Eco RI     (Mbo I)     EMBL-SI-B8 SKSIB8-HI                         2.2 Kb       SEQ ID NO: 28 includes 287 bp of                                      promoter including mRNA     19.0 Kb Sal I                9.5 Kb SRI I/                         Bam HI/BstBI 5' leader, 1473 bp of coding region                                      (which includes a 510     (Mbo I)    Bam HI                bp intron), and a 758 bp 3' region.     EML-SI-B6-1A                SKSIB6-1A                         23 Kb        SEQ ID NO: 29 contains 562 bp of                                      promoter.     of 12.3 Kb Sal I                123 Kb Sal I                         Bam HI/Xho I     (Mbo I)     EMBL-SI-E9 SKSI-E9  7.0 Eb Xho I/     12.4 Kb Sal I                12.4 Kb Sal I                         Nco I     (Mbo I)     EMBL-SI-A12-A                SKSIA12-A                         3.5 Kb Sal I (Mbo I)/     11.5 Kb Sal I                6.7 Kb Sal I                         Sma I     (Mbo I)     __________________________________________________________________________

6. Characterization of Promoter Activity (In General)

Once the DNA was purified from the phage genomic clones (Ausubel et al., pp. 1.10.1 to 1.13.6) the insert DNAs (10 to 15 Kb) were characterized in terms of their restriction maps (supra, pp. 3.1.1 to 3.3.2). The different restriction fragments were separated on agarose gels and Southern blotted. The blots were then be hybridized to cDNA probes. This procedure enabled us to identify smaller fragments (about 1 to 10 Kb) that contained the homologous cDNA sequence. The fragment was then subcloned (supra., pp. 3.16.1 to 3.16.11) into plasmid vectors such as pGEM5zf (Promega, Madison) or Bluescript SK, KS (Stratagene, California). All further manipulations, such as promoter identifications, transcription maps and gene size determinations were done using the subclones.

Mapping the gene transcripts by nuclease protection may also be done. Single-stranded DNA probes may be generated from the Bluescript subclones and hybridized to poly(A)+RNA from fiber cells. The hybridized portions that are protected from nuclease action will be determined as described by Calzone et al. in Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 152 (Eds. Berger, S. L. and Kimmel, A. R.), 1987, pp. 611-632. Furthermore, mapping the 5' termini by cDNA primer extension is also described (supra, pp. 629-632). These strategies will determine the size of the gene, as well as precise boundaries of the gene transcript, or coding region for the fiber gene, in the subclone. Portions of the DNA may then be sequenced if desired.

It was necessary to determine whether the isolated DNA fragments had promoter activity. The genomic fragments we assayed are described in FIG. 1.

A GUS fusion construct was used to identify the cotton promoters. First, the transcription start site of the mRNA was determined by primer extension method, as described by Calzone et al. (supra). The subcloned gene fragment and a short restriction fragment or an oligomer at the 5' end was used in the primer extension. A beta-glucuronidase (GUS) coding sequence along with necessary termination signals, as well a 5' leader sequences, was used with an upstream 2-3 Kb DNA fragment from the transcription or translation start site. The GUS sequence is already readily publicly available (ATCC 67641).

It has been demonstrated that a GUS gene construct with a cauliflower mosaic virus 35 promoter (CaMV35s) promoter is functional in plant cells. Thus, when this construct was introduced through particle bombardment (described by McCabe, D. et al., Bio/Technology, 6: 923-926, 1988) into a plant, GUS activity was observed. If the construct containing an unknown DNA is found to be active in expressing GUS, then it can be concluded that the DNA fragment contains a promoter that directs the expression of GUS gene. Using the GUS assay, we determined that the sequences identified in Table 1 had promoter activity. FIG. 2 describes the various levels of promoter activity we found.

Using the Bluescript subclone and exonuclease/mung bean deletion procedure in which a series of clones with differing lengths of the 5' fragment are generated, one can identify minimum lengths of 5' DNA necessary to express the gene in fiber cells. These types of procedures will enable one to identify promoters from all genomic clones. Based on this knowledge, one can construct various developmentally regulated expression vectors containing fiber genes of interest and introduce them into plants.

7. Determination of Promoter Activity

A chimeric gene construct was made using the putative promoter and the reporter gene beta-glucuronidase (GUS) of E. coli. GUS catalyzes the cleavage of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoyl glucuronide (X-Gluc). The indole derivative produced by this cleavage undergoes oxidative dimerization to form a blue dye. Cells that produce this blue dye can be detected easily. The GUS marker system has been described in detail by Jefferson, et al., in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83: 8447-8451 (1986) and in Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387-405 (1987). The GUS gene is publicly available (ATCC Accession No. 67641).

Chimeric plasmids were constructed by litigating a promoter-less GUS coding region along with a transcription termination signal Nos(A) at the 3' end into a vector cassette as a Nco I/Sal I fragment. An AMV 5' untranslated leader is added to the 5' end of the GUS gene as a Nco I/Xho I fragment. This construct (p2117, FIG. 3) contains unique Xho I and Nco I sites for introducing putative promoters. For example, if a cauliflower mosaic virus 35s (CaMV 35s) promoter is ligated into Xho I or Nco I site and the resulting plasmid (p2119) is introduced into plant cells by particle acceleration, GUS expression can be detected. Ellis et al., Plant. Mol. Biol. 17: 19-27, 1991. We have tested GUS expression by histochemical staining as well as quantitative measurements (Jefferson, R. A., supra).

The assay involves transforming a test cotton tissue, such as hypocotyl, with different plasmids. We transformed the hypocotyl tissue via a particle-mediated transformation method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,580, hereby incorporated by reference.

We analyzed our reporter gene constructs in two ways, through histochemical staining and through fluorogenic analysis. The histochemical staining gave a quick "yes or no" answer while the fluorogenic analysis provided quantitative data.

(a) Histochemical Staining

Histochemical localization of beta-glucuronidase activity in plant tissues is achieved by incubating freshly cut, transformed tissue sections in a solution containing 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoyl glucuronide (X-Gluc). X-Gluc is prepared by dissolving 5 mg of X-Gluc in 50 μl of dimethyl formamide and diluting it to 10ml with 50mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.0. After staining (1-3 hours at 37° C.), the tissue sections were rinsed off with 70% ethanol. Cells containing an active GUS gene turn blue.

(b) Fluorogenic Assay

The quantitative assay for GUS activity depends on the cleavage of 4-methyl umbelliferyl glucuronide (MUG) by the GUS enzyme into a fluorogenic product 4-methyl umbelliferone (MU). MU is fluorescent when its hydroxyl group is ionized. (Jefferson, R. A. supra). The fluorogenic assay is carried out as follows. Plant tissue was homogenized in extraction buffer (50 mMNaH₂ PO₄, pH 7.0, 10 mM EDTA 0.1% Triton X-100, 0.1% sodium lauroyl sarcosine, 10mM β-mercaptoethanol). We included proteinase inhibitor PMSF at a final concentration of 20 μg/ml and 1% insoluble PVP. The extract, after centrifugation (300 μl) was added to 1 ml of MUG buffer. The MUG buffer is made up of 1 mM MUG in the above extraction buffer. The mixture is incubated at 37° C. and at time points 0, 20, 40, and 60 min. an aliquote (100 μl) is withdrawn and added to 1 ml stop solution (0.2M Na₂ CO₃). The fluorescence at each time point is measured in a fluorocalorimeter (excitation at 365 nm, emission at 455 nm) Protein concentration of the plant extract is determined by Bradford assay using a test kit from Bio-Rad Laboratories (M. Bradford, Anal. Biochem. 72: 248-254, 1976). The fluorimeter is calibrated with freshly prepared MU standards. The results are given as pmole MU/mg/min. FIG. 2 describes the various results with our twelve promoter fragments.

The above system for the detection of promoters, namely transient expression of chimeric GUS plasmids introduced into hypocotyl tissues through particle bombardment, appears to be limited in that no tissue specificity of expression is observed for any of the promoters tested. Thus, promoters (LAT 52, Cab) that were proven to be tissue specific in heterologous stable transgenic plants (Twell, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 217: 240-245 (1989); Ha and An, Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 85:8017-8021 (1988)) are found to express GUS transiently when introduced into cotton hypocotyls by particle bombardment.

The following control experiments were conducted along with each of the promoter assays.

1. Plasmid p2117 was introduced into cotton or soybean hypocotyl tissues as a negative control. Because p2117 contains a promoter-less GUS gene, no GUS activity should be detected. FIG. 3 describes p2117.

2. The tissue was bombarded with p2119. p2119 contains a GUS gene driven by 35s promoter. This is a positive control, for GUS should always be expressed.

3. The DNA fragment being tested for activity is introduced into hypocotyl tissue. This is to demonstrate that the fragment in question has no GUS-like activity.

Using the above procedures and protocols, we have demonstrated promoter activity in the twelve promoter fragments listed in FIG. 1. The promoters exhibited different levels of expression, as FIG. 2 indicates. If one wished to create a transgenic plant with high or low expression of a certain transgene, FIG. 2 would allow one to select the appropriate promoter.

8. Transformation of plants The most common methodology used for the transformation of cells of dicot plant species involves the use of the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens. A. tumefaciens harbors a plasmid, referred to as the tumor-inducing or Ti plasmid, which has the natural ability to transfer a segment of itself, referred to as the T-DNA (transfer-DNA), into the genome of infected plant cells. Wild-type A. tumefaciens use this ability to genetically transform infected cells of plants so that the plant cells become tumorous, and synthesize one of a series of compounds, known as opines, which can be metabolized by the infecting A. tumefaciens. Several investigators have found that by removing the bulk of the T-DNA from the Ti plasmid harbored by A. tumefaciens, and by replacing that T-DNA with a foreign gene construction, the Agrobacterium can transform infected plant cells with the foreign gene in such a fashion that the resultant cells are not tumorous, as plant cells infected with wild-type A. tumefaciens normally are. The foreign gene construction is then included in the cells of a whole plant regenerated from the transformed cells and is then inherited in a simple Mendelian manner. The construction can thus be treated as any inheritable trait for crop breeding purposes. The transformation and regeneration of cotton plants by Agrobacterium transformation has been achieved and reported. Umbeck et al. (supra) and Firoozabady et al. (supra).

Other methods of plant transformation, such as transformation by accelerated particle carried DNA, are now available (McCabe et al. supra). An apparatus capable of performing particle-mediated transformation is commercially available from BioRad. In any event, once the creation and assembly of plant expression vectors including fiber specific gene sequences is accomplished, the transformation and regeneration of cotton plants with these expression vectors is within the ability of one of ordinary skill in plant genetic engineering, and is not dependent on the method of transformation.

9. Characterization of Cotton Genes

As a specific Example of our characterization of fiber-specific promoters, our characterization of the E6 genes is disclosed in detail. Brief descriptions of other genes and promoters follow.

Two E6 genes from cultivar Sea Island (G. barbadense) and two genes from Coker 312 (G. hirsutum) were isolated and examined. These four genes have homology to each other. Detailed structural characterization of these genes is presented below.

a. Sea Island E6-2A Gene and Promoter.

The phage EMBLSIE6-2 contains a 14.2 Kb insert. Restriction mapping followed by Southern analysis showed that a 9.5 Kb Sal I fragment hybridized to E6 cDNA. The 9.5 Kb Sal I fragment was subcloned into Sk⁺ vector (pSkSIE6-2A). Further subcloning resulted in a shorter clone (6.4 Kb) pSKSIE6-2AH3. About 541 bp of promoter region, 33 bp of 5' noncoding region, 741 bp of coding region, and 332 bp of 3' noncoding region have been sequenced and is described in SEQ ID NO: 20. In order to identify the promoter region, plasmid pSKSIE6-2AH3 was digested with Nco I and Bam HI to liberate three fragments. The vector and upstream 5' noncoding fragment of the gene (4.5 Kb insert and 3 Kb vector) was gel purified and subjected to Elutip-d column elution.

Plasmid 2117 is a promoter-less GUS marker gene cassette. A circular map of the plasmid is shown in FIG. 3. When a 35s promoter is added to p2117, the marker gene is able to express GUS in plant tissue. Plasmid 2117 was digested with Nco I and Bam HI and gel purified. The 2 Kb Nco I/Bam HI fragment containing the GUS gene was ligated to the 7.5 Kb E6 genomic fragment and transformed into XL-1 Blue cells. Recombinant clones (p2117-E6) were identified by SDS-agarose gels. However, this construct lacks a poly(A)-addition signal. Therefore, a 277 bp Bam HI fragment of p2117, which contains the poly(A)-addition signal, was ligated into the Bam HI site of p2117-E6. The orientation of the poly(A) addition signal in p2117E6P-2A was then determined by restriction digestion analysis and the chimeric plasmid containing the correct orientation was selected. The construction of the plasmid is shown in FIG. 4.

Plasmid p2117E6P-2A was then introduced into cotton hypocotyls through particle acceleration method (McCabe, D., et al., Bio/Technology, 6:923-926 (1988)). As mentioned above, control experiments used plasmids p2119, p2117, and pSKSIE6-2AH3. Plasmid p2119, a GUS construct with the 35s promoter gave positive GUS activity as expected. Plasmid 2117 (no plant promoter) and plasmid SKSIE6-2AH3 (no GUS gene) gave no GUS activity. Plasmid p2117E6P-2A which contains the region 5' to the E6 gene and the GUS gene, showed GUS activity. This result suggests that an active promoter element is located in the 4.5 Kb Nco I/Sal I DNA fragment.

b. Sea Island E6-3B Gene and Promoter.

A second phage (insert 15 Kb) hybridizing to E6 cDNA contains a Sal I fragment (5.1 Kb). This fragment was subcloned into SK⁺ vector. This plasmid (pSKSIE6-3B) was characterized in terms of the region to which E6 cDNA hybridize. 581 bp of promoter region, 33 bp of 5' noncoding region, 741 bp of coding region, and 313 bp of 3' noncoding region are shown in SEQ ID NO: 21. Promoter fragment identification of pEKSIE6-3B gene was carried out as follows. After determining the coding region and the putative promoter region in pSKSIE6-3B it was digested with Nco I and Xba I and the resulting plasmid (approximately 5.7 Kb) gel purified. Similarly the promoter-less GUS gene cassette was digested with NCO I/Xba I and gel purified. The GUS gene was then ligated to plasmid pSKSIE6-3B. Construction of p2117 E6P-3B is shown in FIG. 5. As described for p2117E6P-2A, various control plasmids along with p2117E6P-3B were introduced into hypocotyl to test promoter activity. p2117E6P-3B showed GUS expression indicating that the 2.7 Kb Nco I/Sal I E6-3B fragment contains the promoter of E6-3B gene. Relative expression level of E6-3B promoter is shown in FIG. 2.

c. Coker E6 Gene pSKCKE6-1A and Promoter.

The screening of a Coker 312 genomic library with pCKFb15A1-E6 cDNA resulted in the identification of two phages, DASHCKE6-1A and DASHCKE6-4A. Inserts from these two phages were subcloned into SK⁺ vector.

A 12 Kb insert from phage DASHCKE6-1A was subcloned into SK⁺ vector to give pSKCKE6-1A plasmid. A detailed restriction map of the insert was prepared and its comparison with the map of pCKFb15A1-E6 enabled us to locate the coding region of Coker E6 gene in pSKCKE6-1A. About 567 bp of promoter, 33 bp of 5' noncoding region, 717 bp of coding region, and 301 bp of 3' noncoding region are included in the sequence and is shown in SEQ ID NO: 22. A 4.1 Kb Nco I fragment upstream of the coding region most likely contains the promoter of this gene. To confirm this, the Nco I fragment was ligated into the Nco I site of p2117 and the construct was tested for GUS activity as described earlier. The results demonstrated that the 4.1 Kb fragment contains a promoter.

d. Coker E6 Gene pSKCKE6-4A and Promoter.

An 8.0 Kb Sal I fragment from a second phage (12.2 Kb insert) hybridized to E6 cDNA. This fragment was subcloned into SK⁺ vector (pSKCKE6-4A). 512 bp of promoter region, 37 bp of 5' noncoding region, 726 bp of coding region, and 303 bp of 3' noncoding region have been sequenced and is shown in SEQ ID NO: 23. In a manner similar to our work with pSKCKE6-1A, we determined the location of the promoter of this gene and subcloned a 3.9 Kb Nco I/Sal I fragment into p2117 at the Xho I/Nco I sites. The resulting plasmid was then tested for GUS activity and was found to be able to direct synthesis of GUS enzyme in plant tissue.

e. Characterization of Cebia pentandra (Kapok E6 Gene and Promoter.

An EMBL-3 genomic library of Cebia pentandra (Kapok) was screened with E6 cDNA. Four hybridizing phages were identified. One of the phage inserts was subcloned into Sal I site of Bluescript vector SK⁺. The resulting clone, pSKCPE6-3A (15.3 Kb insert) was characterized by restriction analysis and Southern blotting. We identified a Sal I - Eco RV fragment (4.8 Kb) that hybridizes to CKFB15A1-E6. This fragment was subcloned into the Sal I - Eco RV site of Bluescript vector resulting in clone pSKCPE6-3A-RV. A 1.6 Kb stretch of DNA was sequenced and is shown in SEQ ID NO: 24. Comparison of cotton E6 cDNA sequence and Kapok E6 gene sequence revel 84.3% homology.

Plasmid SKCPE6-3A-RV was digested with Nco I and Bam HI and the fragments separated on agarose gels. The larger of the DNA fragments (6.2 Kb, a 3.2 Kb insert and a 3 Kb vector) was electroeluted and purified. Similarly, GUS gene containing p2117 was digested with Nco I and Bam HI and the 1.8 Kb GUS fragment isolated and purified. The two DNA fragments were then ligated and transformed into X1-1 Blue cells. Recombinant clones were identified by DNA analysis on SDS-agarose gels (Sekar, et al., supra). A Nos poly(A) signal region from p2117 was isolated by Bam HI digestion. This fragment was ligated into the Bam HI site of the above Kapok E6-GUS plasmid after linearization with Bam HI. The resulting clones was analyzed for correct orientation of the Nos poly(A) addition signal by restriction digestion analysis. A circular map of pCPE6-2117 is shown in FIG. 6.

Plasmid CPE6-2117 was introduced into cotton hypocotyls through particle acceleration method (McCabe et al., (supra). In duplicate experiments, pSKCPE6-RV, p2117 and p2119 were introduced into hypocotyls. As described earlier, GUS activity was assayed. As expected, pSKCPE6-RV and p2117 showed no GUS activity while p2119 gave positive results. The plasmid CPE6-2117 showed GUS activity, confirming that the 3.2 Kb Sal I/Nco I fragment contains the promoter for CPE6 gene.

f. Characterization of Sea Island H6 Gene and Its Promoter

A 13 Kb Sal I fragment from the H6 genomic clone, EMBLSIH6-4, was subcloned into Bluescript SK⁺ vector and designated pSKSIH6-4. After identifying the cDNA hybridizing region in pSKSIH6-4, the H6 gene was further subcloned by digesting the plasmid with Eco RI, purifying the fragments, and ligating them to SK⁺ vector. One of the resulting plasmids, designated pSIH6-4R1, contains the H6 gene. The complete sequence of the H6 coding region as well as the 300 bases upstream from the initiation codon were determined. These sequences are presented at SEQ ID NO: 25. Digestion with the enzyme Fsp I releases this 300 bp region, together with 250 bp of vector sequence. The 550 bp fragment was tested for promoter function in a similar fashion described for E6 genes, and is found to be active. FIG. 7 is a diagram of H6 cDNA. FIG. 8 is a diagram of the H6 gene. FIG. 9 describes the plasmid pH6-2117.

g. Characterization of B12 Gene and Its Promoter

A genomic clone corresponding to pCKFB10-B12 was isolated from the Sea Island genomic library. The 15 Kb insert from the phage, EMBLSI-B12, was subcloned into an SK⁺ vector as a Sal I fragment. Further subcloning of the insert as a Hind III fragment (7.3 Kb) into SK⁺ vector resulted in plasmid pSKSI-B12H3. The sequence of B12 gene and 5' flanking promoter region is shown in SEQ ID NO: 26.

The promoter fragment of the gene was identified as follows. The fragment corresponding to the 5' end of the cDNA in the B12 gene was excised as an EcoR1/Sty I fragment (3.1Kb) and gel purified. After T4 DNA polymerase treatment, Nco I linkers were added and then ligated to the Nco I site of p2117. Orientations of the fragment in relation to GUS gene was determined by restriction mapping and clones with the correct orientation was selected. pB12-2117 was introduced into hypocotyl tissue through particle bombardment for GUS activity measurements.

h. Characterization of Sea Island A-11 Gene and Its Promoter

The fiber cDNA A-11 was used to screen a Sea Island genomic library and isolate phage EMBLSI-A11A and EMBLSI-A11B. The insert of the phage EMBLSI-A11B (17 Kb) was subcloned into SK⁺ vector and subjected to restriction mapping and Southern analysis. A 4.9 Kb Sal I fragment that hybridized to pCKFB10-A11 cDNA was then subcloned into SK⁺ vector (pSKSIA11-B) and the cDNA hybridizing region determined by further restriction mapping and Southern analysis. Sequence analysis of the cDNA had determined that is contains an open reading frame of 552 bases. Presumably the promoter of the gene is located in a Sal I/Eco RI fragment (2.1 Kb). To test this, a chimeric construct was made as follows. ASK⁺ vector was modified to include a unique Nco I site in the poly linker. The Sal I/Eco R1 fragment (2.1 Kb) was cloned into Sal I/Eco RI site of Nco-SK⁺ vector followed by an Nco I/Xho I GUS fragment from the p2117 plasmid. The resulting plasmid pA11B-2117 was then tested for GUS activity in hypocotyl tissue. It is found that pA11B-2117 expressed GUS. From these results we conclude that All-B promoter is located in the Sal I/Eco R1 fragment. Sequence of the A-11 gene promoter is given in SEQ ID NO: 27.

i. Characterization of B8 Gene and Its Promoter

The insert of B8 cDNA clone was used to isolate a phage from Sea Island genomic library (19 Kb insert). A Sal I/Bam HI fragment from the phage DNA that hybridized BH8 cDNA insert was subcloned into SK⁺ vector. This generated a 9.5 Kb fragment that contained the B8 gene. A 2.5 Kb DNA part was then sequenced and was shown to contain homologous sequences to B8. SEQ. ID NO: 28 is the B8 gene. Based on the sequence comparison of the cDNA and gene, we determined that a 2.1 Kb Bam HI/BstB1 fragment would contain the B8 promoter. In order to create an Nco I site at the 3' end of the promoter fragment for convenient cloning of genes, we modified the B8 promoter by PCR. Two PCR primers MEJ117 and MEJ118, (SEQ ID NO: 30 and SEQ ID NO: 31) were used to amplify a 120 bp fragment. MEJ118 contained a BstBI and an Nco I site. The PCR product was digested with BstBI and purified. Similarly the B8 vector, pSKSIB8 clone was also digested with BstBI and a 7 Kb fragment was gel purified and ligated to the PCR product. Recombinant clones containing the B8 vector were then screened and the orientation of the 120 bp insert in B8 was determined by PCR. Now the plasmid was ready for determination of B8 promoter activity. The above plasmid was digested with Nco I and Sal I and gel purified. A GUS-containing clone pSIB8GUS was then introduced into cotton hypocotyl tissue through particle bombardment. Appropriate control experiments were included. These studies show that B8 fragment contains promoter activity.

j. Characterization of Sea Island B6 Gene and Its Promoter

A phage, EMBLSIB6-1A, was identified from the screening of the genomic library. A 12.3 Kb Sal I fragment of EMBLSIB6-1A was subcloned into SK⁺ vector. After determining that B6 cDNA hybridizes to a 4.3 Kb Xho I/Sal I fragment, we isolated the 5' end of the B6 gene as a Bam HI/Xho I fragment (2.3 Kb) and ligated it into Xho I/Bam HI sites of SK⁺ vector. Subsequently, a 2.0 Kb Xho I/Sal I GUS fragment of p2117 was ligated into the B6 vector at the Xho I site. This plasmid pB6-2117 was then introduced into hypocotyl tissue along with control plasmids by particle bombardment. GUS activity was detected after 24 hours of bombardment indicating that the Xho I/Bam HI fragment contains a functional promoter. Sequence of this 5' flanking region containing B6 promoter is given in SEQ ID NO: 29.

k. Characterization of Sea Island E9 Gene and Its Promoter

cDNA pCKFb23-E9 was used to isolate a phage EMBLSI-E9 from Sea Island library. The 12.4 Kb Sal I insert from EMBLSI-E9 was subcloned into Sk⁺ vector (pSKSI-E9). We determined the DNA fragment that hybridizes to E9 cDNA, by restriction mapping and Southern hybridization. The cDNA and the gene contains an Nco I site at the 5' end. DNA fragment 5' to the unique Nco I site (an Nco I/Xho I fragment of 7.0 Kb) was used to generate a chimeric GUS plasmid to test promoter function of the Nco I/Xho I fragment. In particle bombardment experiments the pE9-2117 construct was found to be active in expressing GUS enzyme.

l. Characterization of Sea Island A12 Gene and Its Promoter

The cDNA was used to isolate two genomic clones, EMBLSI-A12A and EMBLSI-A12B from Sea Island library. The inserts of the phages were subcloned into SK⁺ vectors. The subclone of EMBLSI-A12A was further characterized in terms of restriction map and Southern analysis. From these studies we concluded that a Sal I fragment (6.7 Kb) contains the A12 gene.

10. Tissue-Specific Expression of Fiber Gene Promoters in Transgenic Plants

In order to demonstrate that various fiber gene promoters can be used to express foreign proteins in cotton fiber in a tissue-specific manner, the following experiments were carried out. The coding region of a carrot extensin gene was fused to the E6 promoter (restriction fragment Sal I/Nco I, SEQ ID NO: 21). Extensin is a hydroxyproline rich glycoprotein found in the cell-walls of a number of plants. Chem and Varner. EMBO J. 4:2145-2151 (1985). We have ascertained that extensin cDNA did not hybridize to control cotton tissue RNAs, including fiber. Thus, extensin is not expressed in cotton plants.

A chimeric extensin gene with a fiber-specific promoter was constructed as follows. A 1.34 Kb Eco RI/Dra I fragment containing the extensin gene was excised from plasmid pDC5A1 (a generous gift from J. Varner's lab), and subcloned into Sma I/Eco RI sites of SK+ vector to generate plasmid SK-Extensin. In order to facilitate further cloning, a Nco I site was introduced into the 5' noncoding region of PCR as follows. Two PCR primers MEJ15 and MEJ16 were used to amplify a 166 bp fragment from the carrot extensin gene. MEJ16 contained an Nco I and Xho I sites. The primer sequences are shown in SEQ ID NO: 32 and 33.

Plasmid SK-Extensin was digested with Xho I/Ava I and the large plasmid fragment purified by gel electrophoresis. The PCR product was digested with Xho I/Ava I, gel purified, and subsequently ligated into SK-Extensin. The coding region and the 5' and 3' noncoding regions of extensin can be excised as a Nco I/Bst XI (1.51 Kb) fragment from the resulting plasmid. This fragment is ligated into a Nco I/Bst XI digested E6 promoter vector pSKSIE6-3B (supra). The new plasmid was called pE6-3B-Ext.

A GUS marker gene was added to the above construct as follows: A 35s viral promoter-driven GUS marker gene was excised from plasmid p2119 (supra) as a Xho I/Sal I fragment and was cloned into the Xho I site of pE6-3B-Ext. The construction of pE6-3B-Ext/GUS is shown in FIG. 10. The construct was ready for transformation into cotton.

More than 30 transgenic cotton plants containing E6-3B-Ext gene were generated. A number of these plants were then tested for expression of extensin in various tissues. By northern analysis we observed expression of extensin in 10 and 15 day fiber, but not in leaf, ovule, stem, or root. This result indicates that E6 promoters can be utilized to express proteins in fiber in a tissue-specific manner. Moreover, the introduced gene is developmentally regulated.

11. Transgenic Cotton Plants Containing H6 Promoter

We have demonstrated that the H6 promoter can be utilized to express proteins in fiber. An Agrobacterium tumefaciens hormone gene, tryptophan mono-oxygenase (TMO) that takes part in the synthesis of hormone indole acetic acid (IAA) was fused to H6 promoter and incorporated into cotton genome through particle bombardment (McCabe et al., supra). Examination of the IAA content from transgenic cotton fiber provides evidence that the gene is active in fiber.

12. Assessing Fiber Quality

When the transgenic cotton is able to produce mature fiber, the fiber must be examined in order to determine whether advantageous alterations have occurred. Cotton fiber length is genetically determined and therefore varies from cultivar to cultivar. Commercially, American upland cottons are classified as either short staple (up to 1 inch; 2.5 cm), medium staple (1-1/32 to 1-3/32 inch; 2.63-2.78 cm), or long staple (over 1-1/8 inch; over 2.86 cm). Instruments such as a fibrograph and HVI (high volume instrumentation) systems are used to measure the length of the fiber. HVI instruments compute length in terms of "mean" and "upper half mean" (UHM) length. The mean is the average length of all the fibers while UHM is the average length of the longer half of the fiber distribution.

Fiber strength is usually defined as the force required to break a bundle of fibers or a single fiber. In HVI testing the breaking force is converted to "grams force per tex unit." This is the force required to break a bundle of fibers that is one tex unit in size. In HVI testing the strength is given in grams per tex units (grams/tex). Fibers can be classified as (1) low strength, 19-22 gms/tex, (2) average strength, 23-25 gms/tex, (3) high strength, 26-28 gms/tex, and (4) very high strength, 29-36 gms/tex.

The micronaire reading of fiber is obtained from a porous air flow test. The test is conducted as follows. A weighed sample of cotton is compressed to a given volume and controlled air flow is passed through the sample. The resistance to the air flow is read as micronaire units. The micronaire readings reflects a combination of maturity and fineness. Since the fiber diameter of fibers within a given variety of cotton is fairly consistent, the micronaire index will more likely indicate maturity variation rather than variations in fineness. A micronaire reading of 2.6-2.9 is low while 3.0-3.4 is below average, 3.5-4.9 is average and 5.0 and up are high. For most textile applications a micronaire of 3.5-4.9 is used. Anything higher than this is not desirable. Of course, different applications require different fiber properties. A fiber property that is disadvantageous in one application might be advantageous in another.

It is to be understood that all nucleotide sequence and size data presented herein is approximate and, although presented as best understood at the present time, may be subject to some variation.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement herein illustrated and described, but embraces such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.

    __________________________________________________________________________        SEQUENCE LISTING     (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:     (iii ) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 33     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 26 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: single      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Oligonucleotide     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: YES     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:     ATGCTGG TACCTTT TTTTTTT TTTTT     26     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1067 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 15 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB15A1      (B) CLONE: E6     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:     ACACACA CAAGTAAA GCATTAGC AACCATAG CCATGGCT TCCTCACC AAAACTCT TCTCT 60     ATGTCT ATCCTCT TCCTTTT TGCCCTCT TCTCCAT GCAAATCC ATGCTAGA GAGTACTT C120     AGCAAAT TCCCAAGA GTTAACA TCAATGAG AAAGAGACA ACAACCAG AGAGCAAA AGCAC18 0     GAGACCT TCGTTCC CCAGACCA CCCAAAAG CCAGAAGAA CAAGAGCC AAGGTTCA TTCCT2 40     GAAACCC AAAATGGT TATGGCC TTTACGGC CACGAGTCA GGCTCAAG CCGGCCCA GTTTC3 00     ACCACCA AAGAAACC TATGAAC CCTATGTC ACCCCTG TTAGATT CCACCCTG ATGAGCCC 360     TATAACA GCATCCCC GAATCCT CCAACAAT AAAGACACT TACTACTA CAACAAGA ATGCC4 20     TACGAGT CCACTAAG CAGCAAAA CTTGGGCG AGGCCATT TTCACCGA GAAAGGAT GGAGC48 0     ACCAAGG AAAACCAG AACAACAA CTACTACA ACGGCAACA ATGGTTAC AACAATGG CGAG540     AAGCAAG GCATGAGC GATACTAG GTACTTG GAGAATGGA AAGTACTA CTATGACG TCAAG60 0     AGTGAGA ACAACTAT TATCCAAA CCGGTTCG ACAACTCAA GAGGAGTT GCTTCGAG GAAC660     GAGTTCA ATGAGAAT CGTTACAA CAACATGG GAAGGTACC ACCAGAAC CAAGAGGA GTTC72 0     GAGGAAA GCGAGGAA GAGTTCGA ACCCTGA TCACCTGT CGTACAGT ATTTCTA CATTTGA 780     TGTGTG ATTTGTG AAGAACAT CAAACAAAA CAAGCACT GGCTTTA ATATGAT GATAAGTA 840     TTATGG TAATTAA TTAATTG GCAAAAACA ACAATGAA GCTAAAAT TTTATTT ATTGAGCC 900     TTGCGGT TAATTTC TTGTGAT GATCTTTT TTTTTAT TTTCTAA TTATATA TAGTTTCC TT960     TGCTTTG AAATGCTA AAGGTTTG AGAGAGTT ATGTTCTT TTTCTCT TCCTCTT TCTTTTT 1020     TAACTTT ATCAAACA ATTTTTG AATAAAAA TGTGAGTA TATTGTA AC 1 067     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 913 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 15 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB15Al      (B) CLONE: H6     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:     TTTCACA CGGGTTG TGGCGTAG TTTAAGCA GAGAGGGTG CGCAGGAT AAA50     GCTATTC ACCATTG TTTCAACA TGAAGGTT TGTAATAA AAATTTG TTTCT10 0     ATCAGCA TTGCTTT GCATTGC TGTTGCAG GAGTTTT GGGTCAAG CTCCTA1 50     GTAATC CTCCTAC GTCTACG CCGGCGACA CCCACACC ACCGGCTT CTACT20 0     CCTCCT CCGACGAC TCAAGCAC CGCCTACA CCAACCGCC ACTCCGCC ACC250     GGTTTC TACTCCT CCTCCCA CTTCATCA CCGCCCC CAGTGACA GCTTCTC 300     CACCCCC AGTTTCAA CTCCTCC ACCCAGTT CTCCTCCT CCTGCAAC TCCA350     CCACCTG CTTCTCC TCCTCCT GCAACTCCA CCTCCAGC TTCTCCA CCTCC40 0     TGCCACT CCTCCACC AGCTTCT CCACCTCC CGCCACTC CACCACCT GCAA450     CCCCACC GCCAGCAA CTCCTCC TCCTGCTA CCCCACCA CCAGCTCC ATTG500     GCTTCT CCTCCAGC CACAGTCC CAGCTATC TCTCCAGT ACAAACAC CATT550     GACCTCG CCACCAGC TCCGCCGA CCGAGGCC CCAGCACCT ACCCTCGG GG600     CTGCTAC GCCAGGTC CAGCTGGA ACAGACAC GAGCGGAGC AAATCAAA TG650     TGGACCG TACAAAAG ATGATGGG AAGCTTAG CCATGGGA TGGGCTCT GCT700     CAATCTG ATGGTTT AAAACAAC CGTGTGCC TCACATTT GATGCCAT AGCT750     GTGTAA TGTTTCA TTCAATTG CTTATTTC GGCCTTG TTTTTCT CGTATTT 800     TATGGGC TGATGTC TCATATGG GACTTTTC TACTATAC GTATATG AGAGC850     CTACATT ACTTTACC ATTATAT TGTATTCT TTGAGACA TTATTAT TATTT90 0     TTTTAC CTTTTGA     913     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 659 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 15 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB15Al      (B) CLONE: C12     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:     CAACAAT CAGCAATA CTCCAAGC AACCATTT TCCTTACA AGTTTGT TTTT50     CTTGTG ATTAATC CATATGG CTAGCTCA ATGTCCC TTAAGCT TGCATGTC 100     TGTTGG TGTTGTG CATGGTG GTGGGTGCA CCCCTGG CTCAAGGG GCCATA1 50     ACCCGTG CTGATGG CTTAGTCG GCCTCCCA CGCTGCCT TCCTTTT TTGTC20 0     AGGGAAT GGTGATGG TGCTGAT GCCACAGG TTGCTGTG CCATCGT CATGA250     ATGCCT TGGGATCG CTCTGTG GTGATACA TAGGAACC GATCTAGC TTGAA300     ATCGGGT TCGGATT TGGGTGGA ATTTCAAA TTGGTGTG TTATGGAA TCCC350     AACTTAA TCGTGTT TAAGGGTG GGATCCAA TTGTGTGA TACATTAC AGAG400     CATGGTT GTGGATT GTTTTCT CATATGTT TTGATTGA CTTGCTT GCTACA45 0     TTGGATG ATTTGAT AAGGTGAC CAGTTTAC CTGGGTAT CCAACCAT CATC500     GGATTAC TTTTTAA TAATTTT TTGTTTCT TGTTTAT GTTGTCT GCCTTTT 550     TGTTTC TTGATCT ATAATAT TATATTTG GCCAAATT TCTCATT TTCCAGA6 00     TGTAGCT TATATAT ATATATT CAATAAAGT ATATTGG TTTAAAAA AAAAA650     AAAAAAA AA 659     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 690 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 15 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB15Al      (B) CLONE: B8     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:     CACCAAC GGACAATG CTTTCTC CAGCCTTA AATCGGGCA CATTGAA TTCACTCA CCGATG60     AACAAAA AGTGGAGC TGGTGCAA TTCCACAT CGTCCCAA CATACCT CACCTCGT CTCAGT1 20     TCCAAAC CATTAGCA ATCCTTT GAGAACCC AAGCTGGTG ATAGTGGC GATGGCAA GTTCC18 0     CTCTCAA TATCACCA CTTCGGGG AACTCCGT GAATATAA CAACAGGG TTGACAAA CACCA240     GTGTTT CCGGCACT ATTTACA CTGATGGT CAGCTTGC TGTTTAT CAAATCGA TCAAGTTC 300     TTCAACC ATTGCAAA TATTTGCA CCTAGGCC TCCAGCTC CAGCACCG GCACCGGC AAAGT360     CGAAGAA TAAGAAGG CTACCACC GTTGCTG ATAGCCCC GATGTTA CCCCAGC TGATAACT 420     CCAAAGC GGCCACCT TGCAAAAT GTTGGTT TGTTTGGA GTTGCTG CTCTAGT TATTGCAC 480     TTTCTT TGTGACC ATGAAAAT GGAGAAAAG AAGAAGAC AGTGATT TTGATGG TGATCAAG 540     ATGGCGA GTGTTTT TTATTTT TTCAATAA TTATCAT TTAAAAAA TTTATGT TCTGTATG A600     ANGATTG AATTTTGA GTTTGTC TTGTTGAT TTCATTT ATTTTTG TTTTGAA ATTTTCTT T660     GTTATC TCTTATT TCTCAAT TGTAATTG TG    690     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 727 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: B12     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:     ATAACCG TGACAGCC ACCAACTT TTGTCCA CCTAACTA TGCTTTA TCTAG50     TGACAAT GGCGGGTG GTGCAAT CCCCCACG AGAACACTT TGATTTGG CCG100     AACCGGC ATTCTTG CGGATAGC AGAATATC GAGCTGGAA TCGTCCC TGTT150     ATGTTCA GAAGGGTG TCATGTG TGAAGAAA GGAGGCATC AGGTACAC CAT200     GAATGGA CATTCGTA CTTCAACA TGGTGTT GATAACGAA CGTGGGAG GGG250     CAGGGGA TATAACGT CAGTGTCC ATCAAGGG TTCCAGAAC AGGATGGC TA300     CCTATG TCCAGAAA TTGGGGCC AAAACTGG CAGAGCAAT GCTTACC TTAA350     CGGACAA AGCCTCT CTTTTAA AGTGACTG CCAGCGAT GGCAGGAC TATCA40 0     CAGCCTA CAATGTAG TGCCTGC TGGTTGGC AATTCGGAC AAACTTT TGAA450     GGAGGCC AGTTTTAA GACAATAT TATAGTG TCTGTCTA ATATAAAA CTGG500     AATTGAC ATATTAC TTATATA AGGCACATG AGCGTTTT ATGCCGAG GTAG550     CAAAATG GCGCCCGC TGGCTTT ATGTGTGA AATAGGCG AGCAAGTG CCAT600     TAGCCTA TAATCTA TACATTT CTTATAGT GAACCAAA CTATTAA GTTTGA6 50     ACTCTAG AGGATAT ATCCATA ATGTCTGA AATTTGT TTGTTGA TGATTGA 700     CCATGAT ATTTATG CTTTTCA TTATTG   727     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 989 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: A11     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7:     TAAAAGG ATAGCAT CTGCCCT TACAAAGAT GAAAATAC AAGCAAAA TCGA50     AGACTTC AGAGATCA TCCTTAAA AGTTGAAC ACAAAGTTA ACTTGAAA TA100     CCAGCTA AAGTGATA ATAAAACT CGACCATA GAATTTCG GAAACTTC GAA150     ACATTCA CCAAATAA AACCGTCC CTCGAATT TCAACTAT CAAACAGT AAG200     GCTCAAC TCACAAAA GCCTTGGA AAGAGGTA CACAAATGT TTTATCC TAC250     TTATTC ATTCAAT CAATAAAA TAAATGGAA CATGAACT CCATCCT CCTTG30 0     GTTTGAC AATACCAG CTTTCACA ATTAAGAT TCTATACC AGATTCA TGAG350     CTTGAAC GGAATCAC TCTGAAAC AATTACTA CATGTAAC AATGGAAA CGA400     AATGGAA AAACAAAA AAAAGTTG GTTTAAT TAATTATT AGTTACC CTTGA45 0     AGACCTT GGCATTGG TGGAGTAA CTCTTGG CATGAAAGT CTGAGAAC AAG500     TAGAGAA GAGAGACG TTGAAGGC TCCATTG AAACACCAA CTCAGAAT CCC550     AGAGCAG CCAGAAGC AGTGAAGT GGTAGAAC ACAAGCATG GCCATGAT CA600     AAAAGCT TAACCGGA ACTGCACC AGTTGAAA ATCCGTCA CCATTTT CTTC650     CACTTGG GGTGCATC CCCAGGGT GCACAACA GGTAATAG GAGTACAT TAC700     GACATGC ACCACGCA GTTGGTG ATCAGCAC CATGGGTAC GGAGGACT GAG750     CACTGTC TAAGCAAA TATAACAC ATGATGA CCACCATGG AGTGATG GTAG800     ACGTGAA GGAAGGAT AGCCTCT TCATGGAT CCGCTGAGG ATGATCAA AAG850     GGTGTCC ATGAATT CAACAATC TTGGAGAG GTAGAAGAT GTATGCC CAGA900     AAAAGAG AGGGCCCG ATGGGGAT GTACCCC TAGGGAAGC AAACGAGG GTG950     TTGAAGT TAGGCACC TGGGAGAA GATGGAAA CGAGGCAA  989     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 498 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: D7     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8:     CAATATT TGCTGTGG CCATGTT TGTTGTGT CCGGGACC ATGGCACA GGATATTG CTCCTT 60     CTCCTGC AATGGCTA CCGGAGCA GGCTCTG CTTTGCCG GTTTCCG CTGTCTT CTTATGCT 120     CTTCCA TGTTGGT CTCTTTA ATTGCTCT CTTGGTGC ATTGAAT TCAAAGCT TTTCAAGAC 180     TTTATGA CATTGGCT ACCCTTA ATTTCACT CTCACTGG TGATGAGG GGAGTAGC CTCTAA 240     TCTTCT CCGAGATA ATATTTG GGTGTTAT CAATTTT CAATTTC TCTAAAGT TTTAAATA T300     CTCTAT ATATATC ATGTTAC ATTAGTGA CATAAATT TGATTTT GTAATGT AATTGGTG TG360     ATTTTC TTATATA TCATAGAT ATATAAGG GTATTGA TCCTATT TCTTTTG TATTCATA TT420     ATGCAGT TTGCTTT GCTTTGC CTTTTGTA ATAATAA TTTTTTT TTGGGTG GTTGAAAAA A480     AAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAA     498     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 668 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: C2     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9:     TTTTTT AAACAAAA GCATAGTA GTTTTTAT ACCCCACT GGTGAAGA ATGA50     CAAACAC AGTTTCCA AATTCAAA TGCATCAT CTAAACAAA TATGCCC CTT100     TCTTAG TCTTATC TGCATGGT TTTGCTTG CTGGAAAT GAAAAAGC AAAAA150     TGAAAGA AAAAGAAA AAAGGTGA AAACAACC TTCAAGGT TTAAGAGA TGA200     TATGTA ATTTTTC ACTTTTT TCAACGCAT TGCAGCAA GAGGGTTC CTTTT25 0     CCATTGC AGAGGCTG ATATGTC TTCTCTGT TTCCTCT ATTTTAG TCCATG3 00     GTAATT TGTGTTT AGCCACCT TTCGCTTC CTAGCTGA TACTCCCA GATAG350     TCTCCAG CGTTCTT GAGGCAGA GTCCTTCT TGGACATC ACAAATGG GGTA400     ATCACTA GGGCAGCA GTATTCA GTTCCAGT ACAGCAAA CAGCATTT TCAT450     ATTCACA GCAGCCGT ATATTAGG CAATAATC ATAGAATT CAAAAAGG CAA500     CAGCATG TCTCATCA CTTGAACA ATAGGAAA AGTCTCCA CAATCACT TGG550     TGAAGGA GATGGAGG TGGTGGT GGTGGTGG AGTTGAAGG AGGTGGCG GTG600     GAGGAAC ACTTGGCG ATGGATAA GGGGATGG TGAAGAGGA TTGTTTA GTT650     GGATAAG AAGCCATG GCA    668     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 570 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: C12     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10:     TATCAAC TACCAACC ACCCACT GTTGTCCC TGGTGGTG ATCTCGCC AAGGTCCA GAGAGC6 0     TGTTTGC ATGATTT CTAACTCC ACCAGTGT TGCTGAAG TCTTCTC TCGCATTG ACCATAA1 20     GTTTGA TCTTATG TACGCCAA ACGTGCCT TCGTTCAC TGGTATG TTGGTGAG GGTATGGA 180     AGAAGGA GAATTCTC AGAGGCTC GTGAGGAT CTTGCTGC ATTGGAGA AGGATTA TGAAGA24 0     AGTTGGT GCTGAGTC AGCTGAGG GTGATGAG GGTGAAGAT GATGAGTA CTAAGAAG TACG300     TGTGAT TGAGTGTG CTTACGA TGTCTTTT ATTACCT GTTGCTT CCGTGTT ATGCAAGCT T360     CTATTC TTTGAAGC TTGTTAA AGACTTGAA ATGGTTT ACTGTAT GTTATGC TGTTTTAT G420     TTTTAT TTGTGTT TGGGTTGA AACTTGAT ATTTTTG TTGGGTG TATTTGA AAGTAAAT TG480     TTAAGGG AACTTGTG AATGCTCA ACAGGTAT AAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAA540     AAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAA    570     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 432 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: C1     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11:     TTTCAT TTCACTA TATACACA CACACATAC ACAAACCA AGCAACCA TGGA50     TACAAGA AGCAAAAC ACCTAAT GAACCATA GCTGCTTT ATTCTAA TAGTA10 0     AAAACCC AAATACAT CATATAT TATTTAGA TCAGCTTC CATAATA TGCTT15 0     AGCTTTT TTTTCTC ATTTACA ATTGCAAGG GTTGCAAG TGCAGTT ATCTC20 0     CACATTT GCAGCCAT TTTCAGC CCCAGTTT CCATTTCA GCTCCATC AAAG250     TGCACTT TCCGGGGT GCCACGCC AAGAACAA GTGTCCCG GTTGTGG TTTG300     CTCAGCA AAGTTCAT CTCAGGGT ACATCTTG CAACCGCCG CAGCCGCT GC350     CGCACTT GCAACCGG AGCCGCAA CCGCAGTT TCCACCACA GCAAGACA TT400     TTTCTT CACCTCAC TGATCAC TAAAGGGCG AT  432     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 320 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: A8     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12:     CAATCAA ATTAACT TAAAAGAA GTGATATT CAGGATAC AAGGCCAA TGCCAAAC AGATTC60     AACACAA ACATAAGC TGCATACA TATAGGCA ACTTGAAG TTATTGA ATAGACGG GATTCA1 20     GAGAACA AAGCTGGT TAAAACAT GAGGTACG ATACAGAT ATTACAT TGGCATG TTCTTCA 180     GAAGATT TTTTTGG ATGGCTAA GTGGAACC ACCAATTT TGGGATGA TCTGGAGG TGAGGG24 0     TTTTGGG ATGTAGGG AATAAGAG GAGTACCA TGCTCAAT AGGACCAG GTTTTAT GGATGC30 0     TTTGGAG CTTGGAAC TGGAT     320     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 399 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: A9     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13:     TCAACTC CGCCGCCC AAACAACA CCAGACCG GCAAGCAGC TTGCAAAT GCATCAAA AGTG60     CGGCCGC CGGCATTT CTGGCATC AACTATG GTATTGCA AGCGGACT CCCAGGCA AGTGCG1 20     GTGTCAA CATCCCT TACAAGAT CAGCCCTA GCACTGACT GCAACAGC GTCAAGTG AAGTT18 0     TTGGCAT GGAAAGTT CACCAGCT AGTGGAAG CCAAAATAA CGATAGCT ACAGAATA AATA240     TGGATGT TAAAATT CCAGAGTT GTGGGTTG TGTACTA TGCCGCTT TATGCGAC TACGTAA 300     TATTAAC TTTATCT ACAAATTA ATATCACT CGTCTCC ATTTCCC ATTTTAA AAAAAAAAA 360     AAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA   399     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 455 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: D4     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14:     AGCAGCT GTGCCTA GTCCTTC TACTATGC CTAGAGCT TGGACTT TCTTCC 50     TACTCGA TCAGATT CTAACATA CGTAATCT TGGGAGCT GCTGCTG TTTCA10 0     ACCGAGG TGCTTTA CTTAGCAA ACAAAGGA GACTCAGCC ATCACTTG GAG150     TGCAGCT TGTGGGAC ATTTGCT GGTTTCTG TCATAAAG CCACAATA GCCG200     TGGTGAT CACGTTT GTTGCAG TCATTTGT TATGCGGT GCTATCAC TGGTC25 0     TCTTCT TATAGAC TTTTCACC AAGTTTGA TGCCCCAG TGAACTAC CCCAG300     TAAGACC ATAGAAGC TACTGTT TTCCATGG TTGATTT ATGTTAT TACTGA3 50     AATTAAT TTACCTT ATATTTT CATGTTCT GCTTGTA ATAATAA TAAAAAA4 00     GGTTGCT TACAGTG TGTTTAT GTTATATG ATTAAATA GAGGTGT TGTCTT4 50     TGGTG  455     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1080 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: B6     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15:     ACTACTC AACTTTC TCTCTGA ATTCCTCC AAGTTAGG AGTTTGGA GAGTG5 0     GTCACCG CTGAAGCA AAACAAAT TTCTTGG GGGAAAAGA AAATGGAG TTT100     TCCATGA TTTTTAT GATTAGC TTCTCTGT ATTGATT TTGTGCT CCTCACT 150     GGCATAT GGTCAAGT TGCAATGA GCACAAAC CCGACACCG TCACCCTC AC200     CAGCACC GGCACCGA CACCGGCA TACACAAA TATCAAAGA CTTACTC TCT250     GTGGCAG GTCCATA TCACAAGT TCCTGGGC TACCTCGA GTCGACTA AATT300     AATCGAC ACGTTCCA AATCCAAG CCAACAAC ACGGTTGAA GGCATTAC GA350     TTTTCG TACCGAAA GACAGCGC ATTCAAGG CTCTTACG AAGCCTTC ATTG40 0     TCAAATC TAACTGA TGATCAG TTCAAATC AGTGCTC CTTTACC ATGCCTT 450     GCCACGA TACTATG CCCTTGC GGACTTCAA TGACCTAA GTGAGAAA GGCC500     CTATTA GTACACT TGCTGGTG GCCAATACA CTTTGCAA TTCAACGA TGAG550     TCTGGTA CCGTCCGC CTCGATT CCGGATGG AGCAAAACA AAAGTCAC TAG600     CGCAGTA CATACGTC CAAGCCAG TCGCAGTC TATCAAAT CGATAAGG TCC650     TTCTTC CGGAGGCC ATTTTCG GGACCGACA TACCTCCG ACACCTGC ACCT700     GCCCCGG CTCTTGG TATTGGC CCATCAGC TGACACTC CATCAGCA GCAAA75 0     ATCCGAA GAAACTGG TTCCTCA TCAAAGCC TTCGTTTT CGGGTTCA TCAT800     CTCCTAG GATCATGA TGAACTCG GGCATTTG GACTCAGCT GGTTTTGG CA850     TTCTTAG GTGGATGG CTGGTTC TCTTTTTC TGAGACGT TATAATT TTATG9 00     TTGAAAG GGGGGCAC ATATGGG GTTCTCAA TTTTCTG TGATTTT TAGACC9 50     CCATTT TCTTTCA TATATAT GTTACTGT GTGTTAT TATAAAAA GAATGTT 1000     ATTGTG TGTTAAGA ATATGGT TGTGTTAT AATTACC ATTTCAA TTTTAAT 1050     GGAGTTT TGCCTTAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAA   1080     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 868 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 10 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB10      (B) CLONE: A12     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16:     CAACGAT ACTTCAAA TACTAAT ACATTTAT CACCAAAC CATTGTG ATACA50     GAAAGTA ATATCAT TTTATCC ATTACCAA GAACATGA TTCATGG ATAGAT1 00     TTCACAT AACTAAAC TCGTGGG TATATTAT TATAGAAC AAACTGGA TATT150     GCTTTAA GCTGTTT TAATGCAC ACTATGAT GAAACTTA TAGTGTA TGAAT200     CTACTC TTCAGGAT TTTTACT TAGGGACCC AAACAATG TGATCCC GAGGA250     AGGAAAT GGCAGACA GGAATGGT TCCTGGT TCAACTTT TAGGACTT GAAA300     AGCCAAA TGCTTAGG GTTCCAT GCTGATGT ATCTGTG TGGCAGAC TGCTA35 0     CTGCTT TGGCTTT TGTTCCG TCAGCACCC TCTAAAGG AACCATGT AAGCC400     CTTGTT GTTTCTG ATTTATG GCAATAGAA GACAGCAT ATGCATA ATTCTG4 50     CTTGTGG CACACTAC GGCTTTG TCATCTGT CATCTTC TGCACTCC AGCTG500     CTATTG TATACTT TTGCATTG GGGTTTGT TTTTCCA CTTCTGT TGAGACT5 50     GCCTGAT CAACTTT CCCTAGT TTGGAAAT GCTATAG TCAATCAT TGACTC6 00     CAGTGAG GTTGCACA ATATTTT TCCTCTCC TTCAATCG CTGGCTG TTCGC650     ACTCCT TAATTGT GTTCTTC ATCATCTC TGCCTTC AGTGATCC AGGTTTC 700     ACTGAAA ACTTGTT GAAAATTT CTGGCAAC TTGTCAGA TGAAAACG GTAT750     TTTTTGG GCAGTTTG ATAAGGTA AGAAAGCT GATTTCTC TGTATTT TCAG800     TGAAATG CAGGCTCA TTGTTGC CCCGGGGT GCATATCC TTTTCCAG AAAG850     AAAAGAG CCACATTC GGG    868     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1283 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312      (D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: 15 day old fiber cells      (F) TISSUE TYPE: fiber cells     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: CKFB15      (B) CLONE: E9     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17:     ACACACA AATACACT AAAAATTC TTTGCTT TCTATTTT GTAAACCA TGGC50     TCATAAC TTTTGTC ATCCTTT CTTCCTTT TCCAACTT TTACTCA TTACTG 100     TCTCACT AATAATCG GTAGTCAC ACCGTCTC GTCAGCGGC TCGACATT TA150     TTCCAGA CACAAACA ACCTCAT CAGAGCTG CCACAATTG GCTTCAAA ATA200     CGAAAAG CACAAAGA GTCTGAA TACAAACA ACCAAAATA TCACGAAA AGT250     ACCCAAA ACATGAGA AGCCTAAA ATGCACAA GGAGGAAAA ACAAAAAC CC300     TGCAAAC ATCATGAA GAGTACCA CGAGTCAC GCGAATCGA AGGAGCAC GA350     AGAGTAC GATAAAGA AAAACCCG ATTTCCC CAAATGGGA AAAGCCTA AAG400     AGCACAA GAAACACG AAGTTGAA TATCCGAA AATACCCG AGTACAAG GAC450     AAACAAG ATGAGGAT AAGGAACA TAAAAATG AAGAGTACC ATGAATCA CG500     CGAATCG AAGGAGCA CGAAGAAT ACGAGAAA GAAAAACCC GAGTTCC CCA550     AATGGGA AAAGCCTA AAGAGCAC GAGAAACA CGAAGTCGA ATATCCGA AA600     ATACCCG AGTACAAG GAAAAGCA AGATAAGA GTAAGGAAC ATAAAGAT GA650     AGAGTGC CACGAGTC ACACGAAT CGAAAGAT CACGAAGAG TACGAGAA AG700     AAAAACC CAATTTC TTCAAATG GGAAAAGC CTAAAGAGC ACGAGAAA CAT750     AAAGCCG AATATCCA AAAATACC CGAGTGCA AGGAAAAAC AAGATGAG GA800     TAAGGAA GATAAACA TGAGTTC CCAAAGCA TGAAAAAGA AGAGGAGA AGA850     AACCTGA GAAAGGCA GAGTACC CTGAGTGG GTTAAAAT GCCTGAAT GGCC900     GAAGTCC ATGTTTA CTCAGTC TGGCTCGAG CATTAAGC CTTAAGCC ATAT95 0     GACACTG GTGCATG TGCCATCA TCATGCAG TAATTTCA TGGGATA TCGTA10 00     ATTATA TTGTTAA TAAAAAAG ATGGTGAG TGGGAAAT GTGTGTG TGCATT1 050     CATCCAT GTAGCAAT GCTGAAT CTCTTTGC ATGCATAG AGATTCT GAATG11 00     GTTATA GTTTATG TTATATC GTTTGTTC TAGTGAAA TTAATTT TGAATGT 1150     TGTATC TAATGTT AACATCAC TTGGCTTG ATTTATG TTTTAAT GAAGTTT1 200     ATGTTG TGTATTT TACTTTA ATGATATT CCATGTA TTGTTAA TTTAAAAA 1250     AAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAGGC CGAATTGG CA  1283     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 878 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: SIFB10      (B) CLONE: H8     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18:     AAAAAGG GGAAGAGC TAATGGAA AAAAGTGA AAAGGGTAA TGGTTTT GCTCCTG CTACAA 60     GGTCTCC AATGGCTT TAATGGGG TCATCTA GAAATGAAA ACCAAGAA GTGAATA CCAGCA1 20     TGAGAAC TGCCGAGA CCATGCT GCGGTTGG TGCCTATG GCTTTAGG GGTTGCTG CACTTG1 80     TTGTCA TGCTCAAA AACTCACA GTCCAATG ACTTTGGC TCCGTTT CATACTCA GATCTTG 240     GTGCTT TCAGGTAC TTGGTGC ATGCTAAT GGTATTT GTGCAGGC TATTCCC TTCTTTCA G300     CTATTA TAGCAGCT GTGCCTC GTCCTTCT ACTATGC CTAGAGCT TGGACTTT CTTCCTAC 360     TCGATCA GATTCTAA CATACGTA ATCTTGG GAGCTGCTG CTGTTTC AACCGAGG TGCTTT 420     ACTTAGC AAACAAAG GAGACTCA GCCATCAC TTGGAGTG CAGCTTG TGGGACAT TTGCTG 480     GTTTCT GTCATAAA GCCACAAT AGCCGTGG TGATCACG TTTGTTG CAGTCAT TTGTTATG 540     CGGTGCT ATCACTG GTCTCTT CTTATAGA CTTTTCA CCAAGTT TGATGCC CCAGTGAAC T600     ACCACAG TAAGACCA TAGAAGCT ACTGTTT TCCATGGT TGATTTA TGTTATT ACTGAAAT 660     TAATTTA CCTTATA TTTTCAC GTTCTGCT TGTAATA ATAATAAA AAAGGTTG CTTACAGT 720     GTGTTT ATGTTAT ATGATTA AATAGAGGT GTTGTCT TTGGTGC TTCTTTT GTAATCTT CA780     GACTGCT TACTAGAA TCCCTTT TAGGTTGC ATCATTGG TATCATG TAATGTCA AAAATGA 840     AAAAAGA TTTATAA GTGACAGC ACAAAATG CAAAAAAA   87 8     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1603 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: SIFB10      (B) CLONE: H4     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19:     ATCTCA TATTCCGG AAGGCGTC TTGATACA CGCCCTCA TTTATTT TATTTTT CAAACAAA 60     TTTTCC CTTCAGT TTTCGTA TAATTTCC TAGGAAAA GAAAAATG AGAGAGTG CATTTCAG 120     TTCACAT TGGTCAGG CCGGTAT TCAGGTCG GAAATGCT TGCTGGGA ACTTAGT GTCTCGA 180     GCATGGC ATTCAGCC TGATGGCC AAATGCCA AGTGATAA GACTGTT GGTGGAGG AGACGA2 40     TGCTTTC AACACCTT TTTCAGCG AAACTGGT GCCGGGAAG CACGTCCC TCGCGCCA TCTT30 0     TGTTGA TCTGGAGC CTACTGT TATCGATG AAGTGAGG ACTGGTAC GTACCGCC AGTTGTT 360     CCACCCT GAGCAACT CATCAGTG GCAAAGAA GATGCTGC CAACAATT TCGCTCG TGGCCA4 20     TTATACA ATTGGCAA AGAGATTG TTGATCT CTGCTTGG ATCGTAT CCGAAAAC TTGCTGA 480     TAACTGT ACTGGGCT CCAAGGCT TCTTGGT TTTCAATG CTGTTGG TGGTGGT ACTGGTTC 540     TGGTCT TGGATCT CTTCTCT TGGAGCGTC TCTCTGT TGACTATG GAAAGAAG TCGAAGCT 600     TGGTTTC ACTGTCT ATCCTTC ACCTCAGG TTTCTAC ATCAGTT GTAGAGCC TTACAACAG 660     TGTGCT GTCCACT CATTCGCT CCTTGAGC ACACTGAT GTCGCTG TTCTTCT GGATAACGA 720     AGCAATA TATGACAT CTGCAGCT GCAGGCGT TCTTTGGA CATTGAAC GACCCACT TATAC7 80     CAATCTT AACCGCCT TGTCTCT CAGGTTAT CTCATCTC TTACCGCA TCTTTGAG GTTTGA 840     TGGAGCC CTGAATG TGGATGTG ACTGAGTT CCAGACTAA CCTGGTC CCATATC CCAGGAT 900     CCACTTT ATGCTTT CTTCTTA TGCCCCTG TCATTTCA GCTGAGAA GGCTTACC ATGAGCA 960     GCTATCG GTGGCTGA GATAACCA ACAGTGCT TTTGAACC CTCTTCA ATGATGGC CAAATG10 20     TGACCCA CGACACGG GAAGTACA TGGCTTG CTGCCTTA TGTACCGA GGAGATGT TGTGCC1 080     CAAAGAT GTGAATGC GGCTGTGG CCACCATT AAGACCAAA CGCACAAT CCAATTT GTGGA11 40     TTGGTGC CCTACTGG ATTCAAG TGCGGTAT CAACTACCA GCCACCAA CTGTTGT TCCAGG12 00     AGGGGAC CTTGCCAA GGTTCAGA GAGCTGTC TGCATGAT CTCCAACT CAACCAGC GTTGC12 60     GGAAGTG TTTTCCC GCATTGA TCATAAAT TTGATCT CATGTAT GCCAAGCG TGCATTTG T1320     GCACTGG TATGTTG GTGAGGGC ATGGAGGA AGGAGAGTT TTCTGAGG CACGTGAA GATCC13 80     TCGCTGC ACTGGAAA AAGATTAT GAAGAAGT TGGCGCTGA GTCTGGT GAAGGAGA CGAAG144 0     GGGATGA GGAGGAGT ATTGAGGG ATGTACC GTTATCCG TTTGCTA CTGTGAT GTATTTTC 1500     TTGTTG ATTTTGG ATATGTG TTTTCAGG GTTGAATA CCTCGGA TGATGTA CTAGTTTT TG1560     GTATTT TCTATGA ATAAAGTG CACGGTAAA ATTATAAA AAAAA  16 03     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:20:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1647 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL-SI      (B) CLONE: E62AH3     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:20:     ATTTAAC AAATATA TTTTGAAA AATTGATA AAAATACT AAATGAGG TTTTGGT TGAATAG 60     TAAGATA TAATTAT TACAAATT ATAAATAT GTAGGTTC AAAATCT ATCATGT GTATATTT 120     GTACTA TTATTCT ATATAAA TTGATAAC CTTATAAA AGTATCT AATTTAG TTTATGGT TG180     ATTGATC GATAATAC CAAATTTA TTAAAAAT TAATATTA GTAAAGAT ATATAGT ACAAAA2 40     CTAAACA TAAAATT TTATATG TTAAGGAAA TAGCGGAA AAAATATC ATATTTG TAGAACT 300     GTTTAGC AGTGTGGG AGAATGGG ATCATTA CAAGGAAAA ATGAAATA TATATCA TTAATA 360     CCAAACA TAAAAGAA AGCGTCTT TTGATAAA GTTGTTAT TGGTGTA ATGTGAAG GGACCA4 20     CAATCAT CACCATTC ACCACTTG CTCCTAA TTGAGTTG AAATCTT TTTACAAC ATAGAAA 480     ACTAGAA GATCGCCC TTTCTTG CTTCATAT ATATAGA TTTTGTA TCATCGCA ATTTCACA 540     TCACACA CACAAGTA AAGCATTA GCAACCAT AGCCATGGC TTCCTCA CCAAAACT CTTCT6 00     CTATGT CTATCCT CTTCCTT TTTGCCCT CTTCTCC ATGCAAAT CCATGCTA GAGAGTACT 660     TCAGCAA ATTCCCAA GAGTTAAC ATCAATGA GAAAGAGAC AACAACCA GAGAGCAA AAGC720     ACGAGAC CTTCGTT CCCCAGAC CACCCAAA AGCCAGAAG AACAAGAG CCAAGGTT CATTC7 80     CTGAAAC CCAAAATG GTTATGG CCTTTACG GCCACGAG TCAGGCTC AGGCTCAG GCTCAG8 40     GCTCAGG CTCAAGCC GGCCCAGT TTCACCAC CAAAGAAAC CTATGAAC CCTATGT CACCC90 0     CTGTTAG ATTCCAC CCTGATGA GCCCTATA ACAGCATC CCCGAATC CTCCAACA ATAAAG9 60     ACACTTA CTACTACA ACAAGAAT GCCTACGA GTCCACTA AGCAGCAA AACTTGGG CGAGG102 0     CCATTT TCACCGAG AAAGGATG GAGCACCA AGGAAAACC AGAACAAC AACTACTA CAACG108 0     GCAACAA TGGTTACA ACAATGGC GAGAAGCA AGGCATGAG CGATACTA GGTACTTG GAGA1140     ATGGAAA GTACTAC TATGACG TCAAGAGTG AGAACAAC TATTATC CAAACCGG TTCGACA1 200     ACTCAAG AGGAGTTG CTTCGAGG AACGAGTT CAATGAGAA TCGTTACA ACAACATG GGAA1260     GGTACCA CCAGAACC AAGAGGAG TTCGAGGA AAGCGAGGA AGAGTTCG AACCCTG ATCTC13 20     ACCTTCA GATGATT TCGCTGAA GCAGATCC AAGATGGT TTGGCATC CTTGTGT TTACAAG1 380     GAGCAAA TCGAAGAT ATAGCTGA TTTGGCT TTCACGTG ATTACGAT GAAGCAAA TCTAAG1 440     ATGATT TGTCGTC TCTGTAT CGTTAGAGA ACGAATCG AAGTTTGG CATCTTCA CTTTGAT 1500     GGAGAGC AGACACAT AGCAGATC TCACCTTC AGATGATT TCGCTGAA GCAGATCC AAGAT156 0     GGTTTGG CATCCTT GTGTTTA CAAGGAAAA AATCGAAG ACATAGCT GATTTGG TTCATGT 1620     GATTACG ATGAAGCA AATCTAAG ATGA    1647     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:21:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1668 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL-SI      (B) CLONE: E6-3B     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:21:     AAATTAT AGCATACC TCACGATG TGGGTGAA GTAAAATT ATTTAACA AATATAT TTTGAA 60     AAATTGA TAAAAATA CTAAATGA GGTTTTG GTTGAATA GTAAGATA TAATTAT TACAAAT 120     TATAAAT ATGTAGG TTCAAAAT CTATCATG TGTATAT TTGTACT ATTATTC TATATAAA T180     TGATAAC CTTATAAA AGTATCT AATTTAGT TTATGGT TGATTGA TCGATAA TACCAAAT T240     TATTAAA AATTAAT ATTAGTAA AGATATAT AGTACAAA ACTAAACA TAAAATT TTATATG 300     TTAAGGA AATAGCGG AAAAAATA TCATATT TGTAGAAC TGTTTAGC AGTGTGGG AGAATG3 60     GGATCAT TACAAGGA AAAATGAA ATATATA TCATTAAT ACCAAACA TAAAAGAA AGCGTC4 20     TTTTGA TAAAGTT GTTATTG GTGTAATG TGAAGGGA CCACAATC ATCACCA TTCACCAC T480     TGCTCC TAATTGAG TTGAAATC TTTTTACA ACATAGAA AACTAGAA GATCGCC CTTTCTT 540     GCTTCAT ATATATA GATTTTG TATCATCG CAATTTCA CATCACAC ACACAAGT AAAGCAT 600     TAGCAAC CATAGCCA TGGCTTC CTCACCAA AACTCTTC TCTATGT CTATCCT CTTCCTTT 660     TTGCCC TCTTCTC CATGCAAA TCCATGCT AGAGAGTA CTTCAGCA AATTCCCA AGAGTTA 720     ACATCAA TGAGAAAG AGACAACA ACCAGAGA GCAAAAGCA CGAGACCT TCGTTCC CCAGA78 0     CCACCCA AAAGCCAG AAGAACAA GAGCCAAG GTTCATTC CTGAAACC CAAAATGG TTATG8 40     GCCTTTA CGGCCACG AGTCAGGC TCAGGCTC AGGCTCAGG CTCAGGCT CAAGCCGG CCCA900     GTTTCAC CACCAAAG AAACCTAT GAACCCTA TGTCACCC CTGTTAG ATTCCAC CCTGATG 960     AGCCCTA TAACAGCA TCCCCGA ATCCTCCA ACAATAAA GACACTTA CTACTACA ACAAGA10 20     ATGCCTA CGAGTCCA CTAAGCAG CAAAACTT GGGCGAGGC CATTTTCA CCGAGAAA GGAT1080     GGAGCAC CAAGGAAA ACCAGAAC AACAACTA CTACAACGG CAACAATG GTTACAAC AATG114 0     GCGAGAA GCAAGGCA TGAGCGAT ACTAGGTA CTTGGAGAA TGGAAAGT ACTACTA TGACG120 0     TCAAGAG TGAGAACA ACTATTA TCCAAACC GGTTCGACA ACTCAAGA GGAGTTGC TTCGA12 60     GGAACGA GTTCAATG AGAATCGT TACAACAA CATGGGAAG GTACCACC AGAACCAA GAGG1320     AGTTCGA GGAAAGCG AGGAAGAG TTCGAACC CTGATCAC CTGTCGT ACAGTATT TCTACA1 380     TTTGAT GTGTGAT TTGTGAAG AACATCAAA CAAAACAA GCACTGGC TTTAATA TGATGAT 1440     AAGTATT ATGGTAA TTAATTA ATTGGCAAA AACAACAA TGAAGCTA AAATTTT ATTTATT 1500     GAGCCTT GCGGTTAA TTTCTTG TGATGATC TTTTTTT TTATTTT CTAATTA TATATAGT T1560     TCCTTT GCTTTGAA ATGCTAAA GGTTTGAG AGAGTTAT TGCTCTT TTTTTCT TCCTCTTT 1620     CTTTTT TAACTTT ATCATACA AATTTTGA ATAAAAAT GTGAGTAC ATT 1 668     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:22:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1618 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: Lambda DASH-CK      (B) CLONE: CKE6-1A     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:22:     CTCACGA TGTGGGTG AAGTAAAA TTATTTA ACAAATAT ATTTTGAA AAATTGAT AAAAAT 60     ACTAAAT GAGGTTT TGGTTGA ATAGTAAG ATATAAT TATTACAA ATTATAA ATATGTAG G120     TTCAAAA TCTATCA TGTGTAT ATTTGTAC TATTATT CTATATA AATTGATA ACCTTATA A180     AAGTATC TAATTTA GTTTATG GTTGATTG ATCGATAA TACCAAAT TTATTAAA AATTAAT 240     ATTAGTA AAGATAT ATAGTACA AAACTAAA CATAAAAT TTTATAT GTTAAGGA AATAGCG 300     GAAAAAA TATCATA TTTGTAG AACTGTTT AGCAGTGT GGGAGAAT GGGATCAT TACAAGG 360     AAAAATG AAATATA TATCATT AATACCAAA CATAAAAG AAAGCGTC TTTTGAT AAAGTTG 420     TTATTG GTGTAAT GTGAAGGG ACCACAATC ATCACCAT TCACCACT TGCTCCT AATTGAG 480     TTGAAAT CTTTTTA CAACATAG AAAACTAG AAGATCGCC CTTTCTT GCTTCAT ATATATA 540     GATTTT GTATCAT CGCAATTT CACATCACA CACACAAG TAAAGCAT TAGCAACC ATAGCC6 00     ATGGCTT CCTCACCA AAACTCTT CTCTATG TCTATCCT CTTCCTT TTTGCCC TCTTCTCC 660     ATGCAAA TCCATGC TAGAGAGT ACTTCAGC AAATTCCC AAGAGTTA ACATCAAT GAGAAA7 20     GAGACAA CAACCAGA GAGCAAAA GCACGAGA CCTTCGTT CCCCAGAC CACCCAAA AGCCA78 0     GAAGAAC AAGAGCCA AGGTTCAT TCCTGAAA CCCAAAAT GGTTATG GCCTTTAC GGCCAC8 40     GAGTCAG GCTCAAGC CGGCCCAG TTTCACCA CCAAAGAAA CCTATGAA CCCTATG TCACC90 0     CCTGTT AGATTCCA CCCTGAT GAGCCCTA TAACAGCA TCCCCGAA TCCTCCAA CAATAAA 960     GACACTT ACTACTAC AACAAGAA TGCCTACG AGTCCACT AAGCAGCA AAACTTGG GCGAG102 0     GCCATTT TCACCGAG AAAGGATG GAGCACCA AGGAAAACC AGAACAAC AACTACTA CAAC1080     GGCAACA ATGGTTA CAACAATG GCGAGAAG CAAGGCATG AGCGATAC TAGGTAC TTGGAG11 40     AATGGAA AGTACTAC TATGACG TCAAGAGT GAGAACAAC TATTATC CAAACCGG TTCGAC12 00     AACTCAA GAGGAGTT GCTTCGAG GAACGAGT TCAATGAGA ATCGTTAC AACAACAT GGGA1260     AGGTACC ACCAGAAC CAAGAGGA GTTCGAGG AAAGCGAGG AAGAGTTC GAACCCTG ATCA132 0     CCTGTC GTACAGT ATTTCTA CATTTGAT GTGTGAT TTGTGAAG AACATCAA ACAAAACAA 1380     GCACTGG CTTTAAT ATGATGA TAAGTATT ATGGTAA TTAATTA ATTGGCAA AAACAACAA 1440     TGAAGCT AAAATTT TATTTAT TGAGCCTT GCGGTTAA TTTCTTG TGATGAT CCGAATTC T1500     CGCCCTA TAGTGAGT CGTATTA GTCGACGG TATCGATA AGCTTGA TATCGAA TTCCTGCA 1560     GCCGGGG GATCCACT AGTTCTAG AGCGGCCG CCACCGCGG TGGAGCTC CAGCTTT TGT16 18     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:23:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1578 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium hirsutum      (B) STRAIN: Coker 312     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: Lambda DASH-CK      (B) CLONE: CKE6-4A     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:23:     ATTTAT ATTAAAT TAATATA GCATACTGG GTGAGAAG TAAAACTA TTTAACAA ATATATT 60     CTTAAAA ATACTAAA GGAGGTTT TGGTTGA ATAGCAAAA TATAAAT ATTACAAA TTATAA 120     AAATGTA GGTTCCAA TATTTTT ACTATTTT TCTATAT AAAATGAT AACCTTAA AAAGTAG 180     TTTGTG GTTGATG GACTAATT TTTTAAAA AGAATTAA TATTAGT AAAGATAT ATATGGTA 240     CTAAACA TAAGGAAA TAGGGAAA ACGTATC ATATTTGT AGTGGGAG AATGGGAT CATTAC3 00     AAGGAAA AATGAAAT ACATATC CTTAACAA CAAACATAA AAGAAAGC GTCTTTT GATAAA3 60     GTTGTT ATTGGTG TAATGTG AAGGGACCA CAATCATC ACCATTCA CCACTTGC TCCTAAT 420     TGAGTTG AAATCTT TTTACAAC ATAGAAAA CTAGAACAT CTCCCTT TCTTGCT TCCTATA 480     TATAGAT TTTGTAT CATCGCAA TTCCACAT CACACACGC AAGCAAAG CAAAGCAT TAGCA54 0     ACCATAG CCATGGCT TCCTCAC CAAAACTC TTCTCTAT GTCTATC CTCTTCC TTTTTGCC 600     CTCTTC TCCATGCA AATCCATG CTAGAGAG TACTTCAGC AAATTCC CAAGAGTT AACACC6 60     AATGAGA AAGAGACA ACAACCAG AGAGCAAG AGCACGAGA CCTTCGT TCCCCAGA CCACC72 0     CAAAAGC CAGAAGAG CAAGAGCC AAGGTTCA TCCCTGAA ACCCAAAA TGGTTAT GGCCTT7 80     TACGGCC ACGAGTCA GGCTCAGG CTCAGGCT CAGGCTCAA GCCGGCCC AGTTTCAC CACC840     AAAGAAA CCTATGAA CCCTATG TCACCCCT GTTAGAT TCCACCC TGATGAAC CCTATAAC 900     AGCATCC CCGAATC CTCCAACA ATAAAGAC ACTTACTA CTACAACA AGAATGCC TACAAG9 60     TCCACTA AGCAGCAA AACTTGGG CGAGGCCA TTTTCACC GAGAAAGG ATGGAGCA CCAAG102 0     GAAAACC AGAACAAC AACTACTA CAACGGCA ACATTAAT GGCGAGAA GCAAGGCA TGAGC108 0     GATACTA GGTACTTG GAGAATGG AAAGTACT ACTATGAC GTCAAGAG TGAGAACA GCTAT11 40     TATCCAA ACCAGCTC GACAACTC AAGAGGAG TTGCTTCC AGGAACGA GTTCGATG AGAAT120 0     CGTTACA ACAACATG GGAAGGTA CCACCAGA ACCAAGAGG AGTTCGAG GAAAGCGA GGAA1260     GAGTTCG AACCCTGA TCACCTG TCGTACAG TATTTCTA CATTTGA TGTGTGA TTTGTGAA 1320     GAACATC AAACAAAA CAAGCACT GGCTTTA ATATGATG ATAAGTA TTATGGT AATTAATT 1380     AATTGGC AAAAACAA CAATGAAG CTAAAATT TTATTTAT TGAGCCTT GCGGTTAC TTTCT14 40     TGTGATG ATCTTTT TTATTTT CTAATTAT ATATAGT TTCCTTC GCTTTGAA ATGCTAAA G1500     GTTTGAG AGAGTTA TGTTCTT TTTCTCTT CCTCTTT CTTTTTT AACTTTA TCAAACAAT T1560     TTTGAAT AAAAATGT GAG     1578     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:24:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1618 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Genomic DNA     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Cebia pentandra     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL CP      (B) CLONE: E6 R5     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:24:     TGGTAT TTAGTAT ATTTAAA TTTTAAAT ATTAATA TATGTAAA ATTAAAA 50     AAAAAAA TTAGATT AGGATTTA TTTTATAA AAAAAATG GAAATGAG ATCA100     TAAAAAG AGCACCAA ATAATAA TAATAAAA GAAGAAATC AAAGTCAA TCA150     TTAACAA CAAACACA AAGTGAAG AGGCCACT TTTGATAA AGTCTTA TGTC20 0     TCGTGCA AGGGACCA CACACACA ATCATCA GTTTTCAC AGTCTCC CCCCC2 50     GTCCCG TTTGCAAC TAATTGA GTAGAAAAT TTTACAAA TTGAGGGG AAAC300     GAAAAAA TTTGCCT TTCTATA TAAACATT TCCTATC ATCACAAT TTCTCA 350     TTAGTG TGCACTC TCCCACGC AAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA GAAAGAAA GCAT400     TAGCTAG CCTTCCC CTTGCCC ATGGCTTC CTCACCGA AACTCGTT GCTAT4 50     CTTCTT CCTCTTT GCCCTCT GCTCCATG CAGATTGA TGCTAGAG AATTCT 500     TCAGCAA AGTCCCAA GTGTCAAC ACCAATGA GAAGGAGTC AACAACCA TT550     CCTGAGA CCTTCAT TCCCGTGA CGACCACC CAAAAGACT TTGCTTC CCAA600     CAAAGAA GAGCAGAG CACTTTCG GGAAGAAC GAGCAAGAG CCAAGGTT TA650     TCCCTGA GACTCAAA ACGGATAT GGCCTTT ATGGTCACG AGTCAGGC CAG700     CTCCCT CCCAGCAC CACCACCA ATACCAAA GAAACCTA TGAACCC TATGT7 50     TACCCC TGTTAGA TTCCACC CTGATGAA CCTTACAA CAGCATTC CTGCAT8 00     CCAAAAC TAACAACA AAAATACT TACTATT ACAACAAGA ACCGCTA TGAG850     AATACCG AGAAACAA AATCTGGC TGAAGCCA GCTTCACAG AGAAAGGA TG900     GAGCACC AAGGAAAA CCAGAACA ACAACAAC TACTACAAC GGCAACAA TG950     GGTACAA CAAGAATG CCTATGGG AATACCGA GCAGCAAAA TTTGGGTG AG1000     ACCATTT TCACAGAA AAAGGATG GAGCACCA AGGAAAACC AGAACAAC AA1050     CTACTA TAATGGCA ACAATGGA TACAACAA TGGTGAGAA GCAAGGCA TGA1100     GCGACAC TAGATTC TTGGAGAA TGGAAAGT ACTACTAT GATCTTAA GAAT1150     GAGAACA ACTACTA TCCAAACC AGTTTGAG AACTCCAGG GGAGTTGC TTC1200     AAGGAAC GAGTTCAA TGAGAATC GTTACAGC AACGTGGGA AGGTACAA CC1250     AGAACCA AGAGGAGT TCGAAGAG AACGAGGA AGAGTTCGA GCCATGAG CT1300     AGCTGTC TTGTACT CTCTACA ATGGAGTG AAAAACAT CAAGCAAA ACAAG135 0     AAGTGGT TTTAATT AGACGATA AGTATGCT ATAATTA ATTAGCAA AAACA140 0     GTAAAGA GAAAGATT TTATTTA TTGGGTCT TGCGTTTA GTTTGTG ATCTT14 50     TTCATT TTCTGGT TTGCATA GTATCCTT TGCTTTG CAATGCTC AAGATAT1 500     GAGAGTC ATGCTTT TTATTTC TTTTCTAC TTTATCAA ACAATTT ATTGAA1 550     TAACAAT GTAAGTA TCTCCTA ATAATCAG TCTTCAG TTTTCAT ATTCGCC 1600     TCTCTAG CAAATGCA CCA    1618     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:25:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 1984 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL SI      (B) CLONE: SIH6     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:25:     GTCGACC TGCAGGTC AACGGATC TTTTTTA GCTGTGTT TATTAAAA AAAA 5 0     TAAAAAA ATATAAAA GTAGTTT TTTTAGAG TAAATGTA AAACTTTA AAAT 10 0     AATTGTA ATATGTA AAATTAAA AATATTAA ACTATTT ACAACCGT CGGAT 1 50     TAAAAAT GATATAT TTTTGAA TGATGATG AAGATCGA TTCCTGA TGTATA  200     TAAATAC TGCCTTC TATTCCC TTCAGTCT TCGCTTCA CCCACTT TCTCAT  250     TTCACAC GGGTTGTG GCGTAGT TTAAGCAG AGAGGGTGC GCAGGATA AAG 300     CTATTCA CCATTGT TTCAACAT GAAGGTTT GTAATAAAA ATTTGTT TCTA 35 0     TCAGCAT TGCTTTGC ATTGCTG TTGCAGGA GTTTTGGG TCAAGCTC CTAG 40 0     TAATCC TCCTACG TCTACGCC GGCGCCACC CACACCAC CGGCTTC TACTC 4 50     CTCCTC CGACGACT CAAGCACC GCCTACAC CAACCGCCA CTCCGCCA CCG 500     GTTTCT ACTCCTC CTCCCAC TTCATCAC CGCCCCCA GTGACAGC TTCTCC  550     ACCCCCA GTTTCAAC TCCTCCA CCCAGTTC TCCTCCT CCTGCAAC TCCAC 6 00     CACCTGC TTCTCCT CCTCCTG CAACTCCAC CTCCAGCT TCTCCAC CTCCT  650     GCCACTC CTCCACCA GCTTCTC CACCTCCC GCCACTCC ACCACCTG CAAC 70 0     CCCACCG CCAGCAAC TCCTCCT CCTGCTAC CCCACCAC CAGCTCCA TTGG 75 0     CTTCTC CTCCAGCC ACAGTCCC AGCTATCT CTCCAGTA CAAACACC ATTG 80 0     ACATCGC CACCAGCT CCGCCGAC CGAGGCCC CAGCACCTA CCCTCGGG GC 850     TGCTACG CCAGGTCC AGCTGGAA CTGACACG GTACATTT TCTCTTA TTCC 90 0     ACCATTT TATATCC TTCTTCT CCACCTAC GATCAAGC TTTATTA TCGGTT  950     GAAATTT AAGCCTT TACAGCAA GACTTAAA ATATAATT TTATTAA TGGTT 10 00     TTATAA TATTAAA TTATAAT TTTATCAT TCTTACAC ATTAATA TATAATG  1050     TGATAAA ATTTTTT ACTTTGG GTACCGTG CCAACTTC CTAACGTC GCCCT 11 00     TAATCT TACATAAA CAACGATC TGAGCTTG TCTCGATA TTAGCTAA CCCT 115 0     TAAGCCA TTAGAGAT GGCTATTG GTTCCGT CTCGACATA CCTTCAAC ATA 1200     ATCTGA TTTAAAA TTAAATA CTTATATC TATTTTT TAACACAA TATTTAA  1250     AATTAT CTATAAT TTCTTCT CAACTTAT AATTAAAA TAACAATA CTTCAG 1 300     CGTATTC AAATTTAC GTACCTA TGTTAATC TAATTTGA CAATAAT ATTTA 1 350     TGTTAA TTGAATT AAAGCTTG AGATATTA AATTTAA TTAAGACT CAACAT 1 400     TGACGAC AGTACGAT TCAACGTA TTAGATT TAATTAAT GTTGATT TTGAA 14 50     CCTATT ATTGCAGA GTGGAGCA AATCAAAT GTGGACCG TACAAAAG ATGA 150 0     TGGGAAG CTTAGCCA TGGGATGG GCTCTGC TCAATCTG ATGGTTT AAAAC 15 50     AAAAGAG TGCCTCAC ATTTGAT GCAATAGC TCTGTAAT GTTTCAT TCATT 16 00     TGCTTA TTTCGGC CTTGTTT TTCTCGTA TTCTATG GGCTGAT GTCTCATA  1650     TGGGACT TTTCTAC TAGAGAGC CTACGTTA CTTTACC ATTATAT TGTATT  1700     CTTTGAG ACATTAT TATTATT TTTTTACC TTTTGAGG ACACTCT TTTTTT  1750     GTATTT GAAGGAAT TTATTGT TTATTTTG TTTGGAAT ATGTTTG GTTGGA 1 800     TTTATT CGATTCAT ATATATT ATATAAAA GTAATTA TGTTATT AAGAAAC  1850     GTAGTAA GAACTTAC AAATATAA GGATCGAA TCCCGAAC TTCATGCA AAT 1900     CAATTTA CAACCCAC ACAAGTTT AACATTAA ATTAACGT GATTGGT TAGT 195 0     AAATTCA TGTTTCT CTGTTTA ATTTGTTG AATTC   19 84     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:26:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 2415 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL SI      (B) CLONE: SIB12     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:26:     CTGGCCT TTTGCTGG CCTTTTG CTCACATG TTCTTTCC TGCGTTA TCCCC  50     TGATTC TGTGGAT AACCGTAT TACCGCCT TTGAGTGA GCTGATAC CGCTC  100     GCCGCAG CCGAACGA CCGAGCGC ACGGGNTC AGTGAGCGA GGAAGCGG AA 150     GAGCGAA AAATACGC AAACCGCC TCTCCCC GCGCGTTGG CCGATTCA TTA 20 0     ATGCAGC TGGCACGA CAGGTTTC CCGACTGG AAAGCGGGC AGTGAGCG CA 250     ACGCAAT TAATGTGA GTTAGCT CACTCATT AGGCACCCC AGGCTTTA CAC 30 0     TTTATG CTTCCGGC TCGTATG TTGTGTGG AATTGTG AGCGGATA ACAATT  350     TCACACA GGAAACAG CTATGAC CATGATTA CGCCAAGC TCGAAATT AACC 4 00     CTCACTA AAGGGAAC AAAAGCTG GAGCTCCA CATGGTTT AATTAAAC ATT 45 0     ATGTTC CATCCAT CTATATT TATATCCA TTAAAACA AGTCGTT GAGCAAA  500     TAATGGA TACTGGAT ACCATCAT ATCTATG ATTAAAAT TTTGCAT GTGCC  550     CTTTTA ATGTATA GCTTAAT TATCCTCC AAATTTG TACTCTT TCACCACT  600     AATTAGC TACGTACG TTACTTAG CTTTGCT TGTCGTCA TCTTCTG TACTA  650     CAAACTC TTTCTCT TTTTGTA TAAATAGC TATACACT TTTTCTC TCCTCA  700     AATCAAT AAGGTTAG GTCAACCA ATTGTTT GAGCTAGCT AGCTCTT ACTC 7 50     AAATGGC AACCAAAA CGATGAT GTTGCAAA TATTTTCA CTTTTCT TCTTT  800     TTGTTCA GTGTATG CAACTCCA TTTTCCTT GGTGCTAA TGGAGATG ACAA 8 50     TGGTGGT TGCAAACT GCCCATGC ACCTTCT ACGGTGGTG CTGATGC TACC 9 00     GGCACAA TGGGTGAG TTTCAAAC TTTCAAAC CATTACCT ACATAAAA ATC 95 0     TCTAGGC TATGTTC TTAATTT GTGATGTT TCTATAGG GGGAGCTT GTGGT 1 000     TATGGAA ACCTGTAC AGTCAAGG GTATGGAA CGAGCACAG CAGCTTTG AG 1050     CACTGCA CTTTTCAA CAATGGCT TGAGCTGC GGTGCACT GCTACGAG CTC 110 0     CGGTGCA ACAATGAT CCTCAAT GGTGCATT AGTCGAACC ATAACCGT GAC 115 0     AGCCACC AACTTTT GTCCCCC TAACTATG CTTTATC TAGTGACA ATGGCG  1200     GGTGGTG CAATCCC CCACGAGA ACACTTTG ATTTGGCC GAACCGGC ATTC 12 50     TTGCAGA TCGCGGAA TATCGAGC TGGAATCG TCCCTGTT ATGTTCAG AAG 130 0     GTGGTGA ATAAAACT CAATTCAA ATCATCAC ACTCTTTA AGGTATG TTAA 13 50     ACTGTTG GGTGTTT AACCTTT TGCAGGGTG TCATGTG TGAAGAAA GGAGG 1 400     CATCAGG TACACCAT GAATGGAC ATTCGTA CTTCAACA TGGTGTT GATAA 1 450     CCAACGT GGGAGGGG CAGGGGAT ATAACGTC AGTGTCCA TCAAGTGT TCC 150 0     AAAACAG GATGGCTA CCTATGT CCAGAAAT TGGGGCCAA AACTGGCA GAG 155 0     CAATGCT TACCTTAA CGGCCAAA GCCTCTC TTTCAAAG TGACTGCC AGCG 16 00     ATGGCAG GACTATCA CAAACTAC AATGTAG TGCCTGCT GGTTGGCA ATTC 16 50     GGACAAA CTTTTGAA GGAGGCCA GTTTTAA GACAATAT TATAGTG TCTGT  1700     CTAATA TTAAAACT GGAATTGA CATATTAC TTATATA AGGCACAT GAGCG 1 750     TTTTAT GCCGAGGT AGTAAAGT GGCGCCCG CTGCGTTT ATGTGTG AAATA 1 800     GGCGAGC AAGTGCCA TTAGCCT ATAATATA TACATTT CTTATAG TGAACC  1850     AAACTAT TAAGTTT GAACTCTA GAGGTGAT ATCCATAA TGTCTGAA ATTT 19 00     GATTGT TGATGAT TGACCATG ATATTTAT GGTTTTC ATTATTG AAATACT  1950     TTTTTT TTATAAT TTATAAA TAATGGGT CATTTCT TTTTACAA ATATTTT  2000     CGACATA TTTTATG ATTTGTC AGCTAAAT ATTATTA ATCAAAAT TAGGAT  2050     GCAATAT TGAATCAA GAATGTA TAAATGAA TTATTGAG ACATCAT ATAAG 2 100     ATATAAA AGATGTA TCATATT TTTTACGT TGAGCAGT CATACAAT AAAAT 2 150     TAATCT CCTAATA TAAGATAG TATTTCAG TAGTGCAT ATGTTGA ATGGTA  2200     ACTTTG TTGTGAGG CAAATAAT TTTGCCCA AGGTGCTA TGTAGCAG AGAG 22 50     CGGGAGT TGCACATT TGTCATA ATTTAGGG AGCCAAACC ATGCAACG GAT 230 0     TTCATGG CCAAGATA GTCATTGG GGTCGGGA CTCCCAAA ATTTTAA TTAG 23 50     TCCCTC CTTCAAG TTTTTCT AAATTTTC AAATATT TTAATTGG ACTCCTC  2400     TAACTTT TCTTTTT T     241 5     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:27:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 279 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL SI      (B) CLONE: SIA 11 B     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:27:     CCCTTT TCCCAAC CCTTTTC TCCTGTAT CAAAGACT TGGTGGTG CAACAAGC CTTGTTCT 60     CAACCTT GGAGGATT GGCTAGTG AAGCATCC CAAAATCC TCCAGTT TTCATGGG AAAATG1 20     GCCAAAC ACCAGCCT CCTCTCA CCGCTTCC TCACCCTC ACTGTCT TGTCTTA CATCTCTT 180     TCACATT CGTTCTC TCCCAAC TATCTCGC CCTTCAC TTTCACG TCCACTC CTCAAATCA A240     TCGCAGC TGTCCACA ACATCTT CCTCCTTA CCCTTTC TT   279     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:28:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 2539 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL-SI      (B) CLONE: SIB8     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:28:     TTTTTA ATGGTGT TGGATGGT TATATTAT ATCTCGA TTATATA TATTTTT TTTAAAAAC C60     GAAGTTG AATGTCT AAATAGGA AGTAATTT TTTTAAT ATTATTT TTTTATA ATATTTGA A120     TCCGATA TCTTATT TAAAAACC ATCGAAAT TTTTATTA CTCAATCA TTACCGAA ATAGAA1 80     TCGGGCT AAAATAT TTCGAAAA CTAAAAGT TTCACTTT TTATATT GAAAAACG AGGCTTT 240     GTGATT CTTATAA ATTTAAT TCATTGAA ATTTCAT CAAGTAAA ACAGAAGA ATTATAAA T300     CTCTAAA ATGATAG ATAAAAAT GTCGCAAA TAAAGCCAT TGTGACAC CCATTAAA GGAGT36 0     CTTTTC CCATCCAG GGGCTACC TTACCATA TTCCGAAT TCAATGG TTTCAAAA AATCTCC 420     TACAACA ATTCGTC TTGGACTA GATCTAGA ACTACTGT TAACGTT TTGTGTA GCCATAAA 480     TCTTAT TTTGTAT TCATTGAG ATTTGTTA ACTTTGT ATATCAT TTCACTA TAAATAAAC A540     ATCTTA TCATAGAC CCATTGT GATCATGA AATTATA TAATAATG GAAACAAA AACCTTAG 600     TTGCAAT CTCTATA TCTGATT TACTTGTA AGTTTTA CTAGGTAC GCCTTAT ATACTGCT T660     TTGGGTA ACTCTCT CAACAATT AAGAGATC CATTCGAGG AATACGGG AAATAATT GAAGA72 0     AACGAGC CTCCCCA TATGTAT GTCTATTT GGTCACAT ATCCACT CCAAAATC TACTCTGT 780     TTTCCC TGCTTTT CCAAGCAA TGTAGTTG CTCATCAA TTTCTTT CCTTTCA AATAAACAT 840     CCCAACA GAGTTTGC TAAAGTTG ATAAGTA TGTCTTCT AGTTAACT AAAGTAGC ATATTT 900     TACCTAA CTTCACC CTCCAAT ATCCTAAA TAAAAAGC TCCCATT TCTTATC CAATCAAAA 960     CATCCAT AACATTT TTGTTCA AGGACCACT TCTTCCC TTCCATT TTACTTT GTTTTAGT T1020     GCCATAA CGTCACCT TCCAATAC AACCCACA ATGAGGCAA CAATATG TCTTCAC TACTCT1 080     CACGTTG CTCATCC TGTTTTC CCTCAGTT GTTCAACA ACATTAGC CCAATCT CCGGCACT 1140     GGCCCCG GCACCTT CTGGTCCG ACAAACGT CACCAAGAT CCTCGAAA AAGCTGGT CAATT12 00     CACCCTC TTCATTC GTCTTCT AAAGTCCAC TCAAGTGG CCAACCAG CTGCTCGG TCAGCT12 60     CAACAAT TCCAACAA TGGTATGA CCGTTTT TGCACCAAC GGACAATG CTTTCTC CAGCCT13 20     TAAATCG GGCACATT GAATTCAC TCACCGAT GAACAAAAA GTGCAGCT GGTGCAAT TCCA138 0     CATCGTC CCAACATA CCTCACC TCGTCTCA GTTCCAAA CCATTAGC AACCCTT TGAGAAC1 440     CCAAGCT GGTGATAG TGGCGATG GCAAGTTC CCTCTCAA TGTCACCA CTTCGGGG AACTC15 00     TGTGAAT ATAACAAC AGGGTTGA CAAACACC AGTGTTTC CGGCACTA TTTACACT GATGG15 60     TCAGCTT GCTGTTT ATCAAATC GATCAAGT TCTTCAAC CATTGCAA ATATTTG CACCTAG1 620     GCCTCCA GCTCCCGC ACCGGCAC CGGCAAAG TCGAAGAAT AAGAAGGC TACCACT GTTGC16 80     TGATAGC CCCGATG TTACCCCA GCTGATAA CTCCAAAGC GGCCACCT TGCAAAAT GCTGG17 40     TTTGTT TGGAGTTG CTGCTCT AGTTATTG CACTTTC TTTGTGA CCATGAAA ATGGAGAAA 1800     AGAAGAA GACAGTGA TTTTGAT GGTGGTGA TCAAATTGG AGTAAATA GTGAAAT TAAAAA18 60     TAGATAT AATTGAGT TATTTTG TAAACATA TTAAATTC CTTATTT ATTATTT ATATACTT 1920     ACTTACT AAGCTATA AGCTTACT TTCTTTT CTCTCTTT TGTTTTA TAGTGGCA TCCAGCT1 980     AGCACAG GAGTTAGA GATCGTTG AAGATCTG CTCGCACT ATCAATAC TTTTGGT ATTTGA2 040     ACTCAAC ATTTTGA ATTATGG CATGTATA GTAGGCTT AGTTATT TTGTTAC GTGTCATA A2100     GTGCCTA GGTTTAAA ATATCGG TTATAGTA TTTGACCG ATTATTT TGTACAAA GCCATTG 2160     AAGTTGG CTAATAT TGTTAAAG GCATATGT TATAACGA TTCATGA TCTAATT GAATGTCT 2220     CGGTTTT ATTTAAT GGTATGT GTTATATT CTGGTAA TACCTCG TACCCTG TTTCAGTG TT2280     GAATGCG AGTAAGGG GCGTTACA ATAGCCT TCATAAACA AGTTCACC AACGGCTT GAAAT234 0     ACTCTAA AAGGTAAG GATAAGAA CAAGAACT CAATCTTT ATTCAATA CACTCATG GTTTT24 00     ATCAAGA AGATCGGT TGAAGAGT TAGAAAGT CCTAGTTG CACATCAC ATGTTAT TTTGTC2 460     AAACATG TTACTAC TTTAAAAG CCGAAAAC ATTGACTG TCCATGAG GTCGAAAC CTTCCA2 520     CACAGTT GAAACAAA AAAA     2539     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:29:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 562 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: double      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: NO     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:      (A) ORGANISM: Gossypium barbadense      (B) STRAIN: Sea Island     (vii ) IMMEDIATE SOURCE:      (A) LIBRARY: EMBL SI      (B) CLONE: SIB6     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:29:     TTTTTCA AATCGAAT CGAGTTTT GCTCACCC TAAGACAAC CATATCT AATCCAAT ATCTG 60     GTTTTCA AATATTT TCTTTTA ATCATGGT TAGTTTT TTTGTTA ATTTTCT ATACCTAC TT120     TTTACC TTAAACT TCACATCC ATTTTGAT CACCAACA ACTGGTAC AACCCCAC ACGTTGT 180     TTTTTT TCTGTTT ATATCTT ACAACTTAC AACCGAAA CATCCACA GTACACAC ACATATA 240     TATATT CATCCAAT CTGCTAA ATTGGTAT CCAAAACT ATTCAACT TTCTCTC TGAACTCC 300     TCCAAGT TAGGTTA GTGTTTT CCATAATT TGCATTT GTGTTAAA AGTTGCT TCTCTTGA G360     AGTTCAA AGGATTCA TTTTTCT TTCAAGTT ACATGCAT GTCTATG TTTTGAA ATGGGGTT 420     TACTTT TTTCTTT TGTTCAT AATGTAAA TTTATTG GATATTT TGCTGTTT ATCTGCAA GT480     AATTGCC AATGATT TGATTCT TGTAGGAG TTTGGAGA GTGGTCA CCGCTGAA GCAAAGCC 540     AAATTTC TTGGGGGA AAAGAAA     562     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:30:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 18 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: single      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Oligonucleotide     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: YES     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:30:     ACCGAAA TAGAATCG GGC     18     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:31:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 35 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: single      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Oligonucleotide     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: YES     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:31:     CGCGGTT CGAACCAT GGTTTAGA GATTTAT AATTC   3 5     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:32:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 21 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: single      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Oligonucleotide     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: YES     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:32:     GGAGAAT GCTCGGGA GGTGGT     21     (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:33:     (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:      (A) LENGTH: 35 base pairs      (B) TYPE: nucleic acid      (C) STRANDEDNESS: single      (D) TOPOLOGY: linear     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: Oligonucleotide     (iii ) HYPOTHETICAL: YES     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:33:     TAGATCT CGAGCCAT GGTAACAC AACAAGCC TTTT   35 

I claim:
 1. A method of expressing foreign genes in a fiber-producing plant comprising the steps of:a) constructing a plant expression vector that comprises a protein coding sequence operably linked to a DNA sequence which promotes preferential gene expression in fiber cells, wherein the DNA sequence is not naturally associated with said protein coding sequence and is selected from the group consisting of the gene E6 4.5 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment which contains the first 541 bD of SEQ ID NO:20; the gene E6 2.7 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment which contains the first 581 bD of SEQ ID NO:21; the gene E6 4.1Kb Nco I fragment which contains the first 567 bp SEQ ID NO:22; the gene E6 3.9 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment which contains the first 512 bp of SEQ ID NO:23; the gene E6 3.2 Kb Mbo I/Nco I fragment which contains the first 421 bp of SEQ ID NO:24; the gene H6 321 bp Fsp I/Mbo I fragment which contains the first 250 bp of SEQ ID NO:25; the gene A-11 2.1 Kb Mbo I/Eco RI fragment which contains the first 279 bp of SEQ ID NO:27; the gene B8 2.2 Kb Bam HI/Bst BI fragment which contains the first 287 bp of SEQ ID NO:28; and b) introducing the expression vector into a fiber-producing plant cell, which is regenerated into a fiber-producing plant, wherein the protein coding sequence is expressed in the fiber cells of the fiber-producing plant.
 2. A method of expressing foreign genes in a fiber-producing plant comprising the steps of:a) constructing a plant expression vector that comprises a protein coding sequence operably linked to a DNA sequence which promotes preferential gene expression in fiber cells, wherein the DNA sequence is not naturally associated with said protein coding sequence and is selected from the group consisting of the first 541 bp of SEQ ID NO:20; the first 581 bp of SEQ ID NO:21, the first 567 bp of SEQ ID NO:22, the first 512 bp of SEQ ID NO:23; the first 421 bp of SEQ ID NO:24; the first 250 bp of SEQ ID NO:25; the first 279 bp of SEQ ID NO:27; and the first 287 bp of SEQ ID NO:28; and b) introducing the expression vector into a fiber-producing plant cell, which is regenerated into a fiber-producing plant, wherein the protein coding sequence is expressed preferentially in the fiber cells of the fiber-producing plant.
 3. A DNA construction comprising a sequence capable of promoting preferential expression of a protein coding sequence in fiber cells selected from the group consisting of the first 541 bp of SEQ ID NO:20; the first 581 bp of SEQ ID NO:21, the first 567 bp of SEQ ID NO:22, the first 512 bp of SEQ ID NO:23; the first 421 bp of SEQ ID NO:24; the first 250 bp of SEQ ID NO:25; the first 279 bp of SEQ ID NO:27; and the first 287 bp of SEQ ID NO:28, a protein coding sequence not naturally associated with said sequence that promotes preferential expression in fiber cells, and a 3' termination sequence, operably joined in a 5' to 3' direction.
 4. A fiber producing plant comprising in its genome the DNA construction of claim
 3. 5. A fiber producing plant produced by the method of claim
 2. 